The Elders of Light
by ElderShadow
Summary: The three founding members of the Brotherhood of Light were noble knights sworn to God and destined to fight for the living and rid them from all deadly spawns of Satan. In a cruel twist of fate they became the Lords of Shadow. One of them was a skillful female healer. The young lady Carmilla finds herself in an unfortunate situation with an "admirer" at dusk. Her journey begins..
1. Ch 1 - Kranstein Village

Middle Ages - Europe, 11th Century. Kranstein

The old Kranstein town is situated near the mountains of central Europe. It is an area with vast ever green forests and many lakes decorating the geography of this area. In the distance of the town beyond the high lake is the Bernhard Castle.

In a candle lit house near the center of the town we witness a scene at dusk. A man in his thirties is confronting a young woman in her early twenties. They argue with each other and suddenly the man raises his hand and beats her, with the back of his hand he hurls his anger towards her face. She immediately falls down to the ground at the doorstep of the house.

"... curse you", she muttered.

"You have always been an obedient one. You will do as I say.", says the man to her.

"It's over Richerd, I had enough of you." she says with a strained voice as she stroke with her left hand through her black hair.

"I hope they take you and lock you up in one of those machines you _love_ so much", Richerd says.

As she raises herself from the floor, three peasants who have been watching hurried to the scene, gesturing to her, signaling her that they had come to help. Richerd gives the peasants a contrite look and then he shares a moment with the woman as they look at each other. With her slightly raised eyebrows and calm lips she gives Richerd a short, worried and sad look as she turns away from him. Together with the peasants they walk 5 minutes silently, entering one of the local taverns. The tavern's entrance is a round stone door with no windows around it. The peasants push open the gate like door with a loud noise like pushing heavy stones, a wave of fine dust blows into the direction of the travelers. As the dust settles, a dimly lit room appears, big enough to host 60 people at a time. At the back end of the room is a bartender, Gleuke. Gleuke is a woman in her 40s wearing dusty glasses and gray hair covered up in a magenta spangled net.

"Oh my dear young lady, what have they done to you? You look horrible... wait for me... I will get you something to ease the pain and something to drink for your friends", Gleuke says as she disappears for a few moments in a room to her back. "There you go." She rubs the young woman's face with a soft moist cloth. The young woman endures the treatment resolutely. Gleuke is done with it serves a cold beverage to each of the 4 travelers.

" 'Tis quite the warm night", one of the peasants said. "Aye." muttered another one. "A horrible night to catch a bruise." said the third peasant.

"Heu Heu Heu Heu... quite the company you have brought with you today, who are they?" Gleuke asks the young woman while laughing.

"I haven't had the chance to thank you all for helping me out. Know one thing, whenever I'm around it means trouble most of the time for people around me. I try my best not to make things worse all the time yet I'm a champion of failure when I should be a champion of success. " The young woman elaborates. "They came to my aid, and I shall see to it that they are rewarded accordingly."

The three peasants share a moment of tranquility as they slowly raise their heads to look at each other.

" You have come for me. You know who I am and you want to question me about my knowledge of the routines of Light, am I right? " The young woman says calmly with her eyes piercing straight through the bodies of the peasants. The room is dead quite for a moment, then a peasant raises his voice. He slams his hand on the table in excitement.

"Yes, it is true, we have come for you. We have been looking for you. We found you..." the peasant breaks into tears. The other peasants hug him. The peasant continues.

"Our land is being haunted by creatures of darkness, they lurk in every corner, they come for everyone. My home town is barely recognizable. It was once a populated, prosperous place but now people who once loved their homes and livelihoods have begun to leave. They depart in every direction, during storm and rainfall, during crippling heat and foggy days. They do everything to escape the terror haunting the realms. These peasants you see here, did the same." Again, they share a moment of tranquility with their heads lowered.

"I think we don't need to tell everything about these creatures, you must know everything about them. It saddens me to say, but by now either everyone has left my town or is dead. There is no way anyone could have survived the horrible attacks." The peasant points at the bag one of the other peasants was carrying who acts immediately and pulls out something covered in a reddish cloth, the peasant begins to unfold it. Suddenly, a disgusting stench fills the room, radiating like poison from the fleshy, sky blue object.

"On our way out of the town, we saw this. A tongue of a human, blue like the sea, it smells horribly, however, it just won't rot. We thought you might know more about it." the object is quickly covered up again and passed to the young woman who swiftly makes the object disappear in one of her pockets.

The young woman shakes her head and says. "You have a come a long way, I'm certain of it. This does not change the fact that I have realized that you are not ordinary town's people right away. I believe your story about your town and the creatures but that's not why you are here. You also know that there is not much I can do for you as the Knights are deployed and fighting at any given time and come when they are available. " Suddenly the room is engulfed with a sounding hiss as Gleuke lids a match and kindles a candle at the table next to her guests. For the first time this night the peasants have a clear view at the young woman. They see her thick black chin long hair and her full red lips and melancholic yet trustworthy eyes. She wears chestnut colored bags and black boots and a green, lightly transparent sleeveless silk top with small emerald gemstones decorating it on top of a woolen tissue. Her presence fills the room with a feeling of warmth and security. Her facial expression is relaxed and she raises her lips to a confident smile whenever she speaks. The peasants remain looking at her when finally one of them speaks up.

"You are a good observer. It is true, we have come to ask you about a device... a device powerful enough to rid us all from the terror. They call it the Artifact of Heavens." In this moment you could feel how the young woman's eyes stared right into the soul of the peasants as he continues. " It is believed to be supremely powerful, but nobody knows where it is. We have heard that... you are involved in some business which might grant you more information in obtaining it. Look, we are here to help and we will do anything to our ability to provide you with all the support you need."

The peasants look into their pockets and each of them pulls out an amulet with an emblem. The fire of one candle extinguishes as the black haired woman gazes upon the amulets in this night.

 **Author's Notes**

 *** Preliminary structure of the fanfiction.**

 **Chapter 1 - Chapter 10 : Prologue**

 **Chapter 11 - Chapter ?: First Book**

This is a prequel story to the Lords of Shadow universe. It follows the story of the early days of Carmilla etc. while introducing a whole set of new original and unique characters.

Enjoy!


	2. Ch 2 - Bernhard Castle

Bernhard Castle near Kranstein 11Th Century.

A full moon illuminates the landscape where the castle was built a long time ago. Every single place the moonlight touches is cold and uninviting. A high rising castle, a gothic cathedral with a hundred towers and maze like gardens below. Only a fool would dare to approach it alone, without guidance without a map showing him the way. You can see the crows from the distance, picking on dead animals, easily scared by the tiniest noise disturbing their feast, vanishing into darkness. Outside one the biggest and broadest towers with a big broad open platform stands Walter Bernhard, lord of Bernhard Castle. For a man in his 50s he is in formidable shape, sporting red short spiky hair, like a hedgehog. His revealed right arm is strong and well defined, like the rest of his body, a beast of a man. He is wearing silver armor and a red long scarf around his neck. His right arm is protected by a thick and silver metal gauntlet with a rough surface. Could you see his face you would get the impression of an ambitious madman. There is something unsettling about his expression. He looks like someone who was capable of continuous slaughter, he most certainly is capable of it. He turns away from the platform entering a enormous black gate into the castle. As the door opens, flickering artificial light emitted by all sorts of electronic devices touches his eyes from every direction and every corner as he walks through the long corridor. The ceiling is high, several feet above him. The corridor like many places in the castle resemble pompous basilicas. He comes by an middle aged man with white hair, broken glasses and a hunched over posture, sitting in a corner, inspecting his devices.

"Frankenstein!", Bernhard yells at the scientist with a furry. "You are consuming much more time and resources than I'm willing to offer you. I gave you everything you needed to set it up and you are hardly making progress. It was a mistake to assign you to this task so early, I should have hired someone far more efficient than you."

Friedrich Frankenstein interrupted his work, he gives Walter an annoyed, almost condescending look and snarls. " Well, maybe you should get some professor from a renowned university, then. Someone specializing in how to kiss your dirty shoes when you wander around aimlessly in your chambers. The alternative would be that you let me work without being a gigantic pain. You should appreciate all the toys I have given you. How many light generators does the average household possess? Would you rather lit every single candle of this place yourself?" Walter collects himself for a moment and then says. " Hahaha, you never fail to entertain me Frankenstein. Never forget, you work for me. I'm financing you, your assistants, your glasses and everything else that is necessary to have you and your place going. Luckily for you, you are the best damn genius this world has seen in a long time, so better stick to your reputation and bring me results."

"Yes, of course, my lord. I am working to the best of my ability. My colleagues do so as well." Frankenstein responds.

"Oh, speak for yourself, I know that you have plenty of layabouts among your ranks. You need to lead. you are responsible and therefore need to motivate them." he examines his gauntlet arm. " I should pay them a visit sometime. An inspection, so to speak". He continues his walk down the long corridor while Frankenstein hurries to resume his work. Meanwhile, the young black haired woman is on her way to the castle. She is alone and she is without a horse. She will march for quite a few hours to reach her destination. She enjoys to travel by foot and she will see some of her favourite places as she ascends to the higher regions.

Back in the castle Walter has returned to his dining room, a remarkable one with many candles hanging on the walls and a long table with over a hundred seats. Walter takes a seat on one of the two out most seats of the table made of marble. He removes his gauntlet and the burned back of his hand is revealed. Then he raises his claps and claps violently, two times. Two women enter through one of the few dark open spots in the room. One brings a golden cup and the other brings a bottle of wine. Walter hastily grabs the filled cup and begins to drink. " Have a seat my dear ladies. Enjoy this night with me!" He drinks from the cup and then hands it two the next woman. She takes a good sip and hands it to her neighbor who also takes a sip. Walter continues. "I love this wine. One of the finest! So tell me, how was your day and _don't_ spare me the details, just tell me what crosses your wonderful minds."

"Well," one of the women begins " We carried out our duties, cleaned your chambers, we purchased goods and talked to the people of the castle, the usual business, really."

"So, what did they say, did they tell you any stories or any news or something at all, I want to know, tell me something good." Bernhard says.

"No, they seemed very tired, we mostly talked about their needs and how we could make them feel comfortable around here and showing them around the castle, introducing them to some of the people around here. That's about it, all I can think of about right now. Nothing out the ordinary." says the other woman.

"This is a very disappointing tale you are serving me here. No action, no drama, no broken hearts or shattered dreams? You can't be real, those lads must have been through a living hell. And all you do is carry them around all day and flicking their wounds, petting them like a pup? A waste of time. " He punches the table with his burned fist and the cup goes flying and lands on the floor, the wine spilled all over. " That's is all you got?" He screams. He wanders off the table into one of the dark corners, leaving the two women behind. They leave their seats and hastily clean the floor and the table and take wine and cup back with them were they got them.

The black haired young woman is on her way to the castle uphill, she is traveling the woods near Kranstein. It is dark and only the moonlight illuminates her paths. She crosses paths with a small, sneaky creature. Its arms and legs are covered up like a mummified soul, the head is covered with red vertical lines. Its teeth are small and underdeveloped, most of them already perished. With a high pitched and rusty voice the creature speaks to her. "There you are. Always good to see you, little thing." he bows before her.

"You are the one to talk when it comes to little things, my little friend. Look, what crosses your mind when you see these?" She waves her arms elegantly and before the Chupacabras' eyes green, fluorescent light emits in the middle of the darkness. Three golden amulets appear floating before the creatures eyes. "Yes... yessssss. Hahahahahaaaaaa. Wonderful, you are always bringing me the best and most precious items, I am forever grateful." As the little Chupacabras grabs for the amulets, she snips with her fingers and the amulets disappear. "I betrayed you, my little friend. You are not lucky today. Today we will play a little game. I hope you like to play?" she says with a big grin on her face, she enjoyed every moment teasing the little fellow.

"Yes, yes, I love play. Play... yes... after you give me the amulets, woman." responds Chupacabras desperately.

"Now, now... you are very impatient today." She snips her fingers and everywhere near them hundreds of small green lights appear, like fireflies. Beneath the roots, up in the crowns of the trees, shining through the leaves. "Go now, find them and they are yours."

"Ha ha ha ha ha" goes the Chupacabras as he disappears in a faint fog in mid air.


	3. Ch 3 - Chupacabras

Chapter 3

So begins the scavenger hunt. Chupacabras tumbles around the scene, appears and disappears in the fog whenever he feels like it and inspects every nook and cranny. Even though the place is illuminated it is quite hard to see all roots and trees or even remember the spots he already checked. Chupacabras has no problem with all of this, his eyes are sharp and good, after all he lives in this forest. The young woman watches Chupacabras every step with delight and excitement, she might be even having more fun than the fellow tumbling about in this night. He finds the first amulet in the crown of two interwoven small trees. "Ha ha ha ha, yes, I got one." Clearly excited, he shows off a little dance and continues his hunt.

It's been a few hours since she obtained the three amulets from the strangers in that tavern. Thinking back, she hardly remembers the appearance of the peasants. One of them was male, she remembers quite clearly. An upbeat guy, he slammed the table. One of the peasants broke into tears, she is quite sure of that. She scratches her head and notices that her face still hurts. Richerd used to be a good friend, they were very close. She thought they loved it each other. At least, she thought that she loved him but lately she realized that they just weren't meant for each other. He was a commanding guy, possessive, jealous of her every move when she wasn't around him. Undesirable traits for a relationship, everyone would agree. Yet, there was something about him she fails to understand, something she always liked about him. Maybe it was his expression, his charisma, maybe it was his possessive character she admired and hated so much at the same time. She scratches her head again. She breaks into a chuckle as she remembers the words of one of the peasants. 'What a horrible night to catch a bruise', one of them said. What a lovely ironic thing to say, she thinks. Is there a ever a good night to catch a bruise? She can't think of a situation where it would be desirable to catch a bruise or have any other sickness or pain. Lately she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, she can't say why for sure. Maybe it was the weather, some people are sensible when it comes to the weather. Caught in her own thoughts she doesn't realize that Chupacabras discovered the second amulet beneath fluorescent foliage. The last amulet seems to be carefully hidden since quite some time passes and he still can't find it. She whistles and at the moment Chupacabras looks at her she gives the creature a doubtful look and says: "You must be blind."

"What are you talking about, you useless cattle!" the creature hisses at her. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting that response. "You must know one thing", she tells the creature. "some of our most valuable possessions are always closest to our hearts. Look no further than your own reflection to see your souls desire. So many cross rivers and mountains to find their peace of mind in the distance when they haven't found it within them. Realize your own depths and heights and then find them in your world." She waves one of her arms into the direction of the creature but Chupacabras remains unimpressed. Then, he inspects his own body and the spot where his staff is tied. His eyes open up widely as he sees the amulet surrounded by green light, hanging next to his staff. He dances in joy as he juggles the three amulets. "Yes, great, lovely, moving speech. Moving amulets. Look how my world spins when I play with these, ha ha ha ha." Chupacabras says cheerfully.

"Oh you!" the young woman rolls her eyes. "I suppose you will accompany me to the castle?"

"Yes, let's go, hahahaha hehehe heeee" Chupacabras disappears, only leaving the fog behind him. So she goes on, the young black haired woman goes on with a new companion at her side. A real rascal of a companion but that's one of her good sides. She trusts those who are met with the utmost suspicion in this world. The small, the weak, the disabled, the hunted, and the misguided hunters and the strange alike. Perhaps she enjoys surrounding herself by those who are in need, maybe she draws energy with her mind and conscience at peace, encouraged by her everlasting devotion to the Father.

She walks and walks, the sun must be rising soon. She rests at a fireplace in the forest as the first few beams of light touch her face. A young blond man appears with a slim but athletic build. He greets her with a friendly smile and suggests. "There you are, you must be hungry. I have prepared something for you, your favourite." He takes a bowl filled with a green, leafy soup from his bag. "Ahh, thank you, Balch, god bless you, friend." she greets him and begins to eat.

Balch immediately questions her. " So, I can see that your face has been attacked... don't tell me Richerd did this?" He looks at her as if he just got hit with a stone. "So it was him... if I dare say so, you are pretty bad when it comes to choosing your best friends. You feel too much and think too little. Told you that it was going down like this... you should get a real friend someday... someone whom you can trust..." In that very moment, a small staff lands on Balch's head.

"You mean someone like me, ehehehehehe" Chupacabras laughs. Balch, seemingly irritated tries to catch Chupacabras, without success. "You will not catch him, he is too fast and tricky." she says. "Unfortunately, you seem to be too inept for this..."

"We'll see about that..." Balch says.


	4. Ch 4 - Whiteout

_Fog; thick like cotton~_

 _Forest; grey like stone ~_

 _stones once still like the lake~_

 _move at will of the wind~_

 _wind blows only for the dead~_

 _the living are still and the dead are in motion~_

 _leafs refrain to whistle~_

 _the grey live eternity~_

A thick mist has engulfed the forest, in its midst only the hands can be seen when raised to one's face. Neither the moon nor the sun can be seen through the mist, yet it is very bright. This mist covers every instance of the perimeter like snow does on a green tree. But these trees branches don't bend to mist like they bend to the weight of snow. They bow to the piercing presence of the mist.

The fireplace is cold now. She has fallen asleep, Balch is the first to wake up. He immediately notices the weather condition and mumbles to himself: "Huh, what... what is this?" He moves with his hands through the air in what appears to be like a soft white essence flowing through his hands and all around him. "...what, I can't feel it... it's not a... net. It's not cold here anymore either." He takes a few steps away from the fireplace, crossing through the mist only with his hands as guidance. He feels something on his feet and immediately jumps for a second in his confusion. "Ahh! What?" As he looks to the ground he notices what was touching him. Fist sized stones rolling and curling all over his feet, headed into all directions. Only a few at first. He tries to kick them away, seemingly with success but there is no way for him to see where they land or if they are still moving. The speed and amount of stones increase steadily. "Ouch!... Ahhhh" Balch tries to run but these stones seem to be everywhere. He takes a few stones to his feet with an increasing sensation of pain as they roll over his feet. "Arghhhhhhhhhhh". One particular stone hit his left leg as he was forced on his knees due to the pain. The loud scream reached her ears as she raises herself and touches her head. "...Balch...?" She looks around. She is not feeling well. She looks around again. "Balch! Chupa!... where is everyone..." Her calls are firm first but her voice diminishes slowly to weak uttering. A few confused moments later she arrives at a scene with dense mist even thicker than everywhere else. A few step into the mist, she hits something with her feet and in the next moment she immediately breaks into tears. "Balch... No!" Buried beneath many stone shaped glasses lies Balch motionless. "Balch... oh Balch..." She carries away the stones to look at his face one more time. His face is pale and his skin is cold. He lies there with his hair less cheerful and colorful than ever. "No... no,no,no..." She looks around desperately. She bows down to give Balch a last kiss. She looks around. She is weak , weak indeed in this mist. She walks through the mist, her face is pale. Her face turns milky first, then dry as she continues to walk. She is walking, she keeps walking in the midst of this complete whiteout. Her cheeks dissolve, fade away into white ashes. Then her lips and her eyes. She keeps walking. This faceless creature keeps walking with black hair straight from hell, ever vicious and cruel. It radiates pure hatred with every step it takes. It keeps walking. This god damn disfigured demon from hell. Look at this witch.

It keeps walking. It meets a young man with blonde hair on its way. "There you are." The man says in a distant, echoing voice. "It's me!" … " It's me, Balch!". echoes in the air. The creature answers with a soundless, sinister expression and in the next moment, Balch drops dead. She continues to walk. There is no way to tell the time of day as there is no beam of light strong enough to pierce through the mist. She walks and finds herself in the old Kranstein town. With fast steps she reaches a house near the center of the town. She knocks on the door. Richerd has been waiting for this moment, he opens the door. "You... you are back? C..." his face turns pale as he receives a smile from here. His eyes and nose begin to bleed. Richerd painfully crumbles to the floor with his arms and legs twitching. "Noo... help...me...it hurts... so much..." utters Richerd with a voice heavily strained by the pain. This will be the last time that we meet this Richerd person. Rest in inferno, old friend.


	5. Ch 5 - Mist

Richerd is no more. Another soul has left the face of this earth. Sadness will overcome those who held him close to their hearts. Those hearts left broken will merely invoke emptiness in the bodies of their carriers. Such is the way of relationships between related and befriended.

The mist is still present and thick as before. In the middle of a road in the forest lies Balch motionless. His face is pale as if all blood had disappeared beneath his skin. He is not alone. A suspicious figure is approaching him with slow and unsteady movements. When arriving at the scene, the stranger kneels to examine Balch's body. "Oh dear... maybe... it's not too late. He looks so weak... ok... let's give him that." The stranger gives a little snack to Blach in the shape of a regular cocoa bar together with some peanut sized fruits highly exotic in appearance. Blue, orange, red, green, yellow all sorts of color patterns can be found on one small fruit. This task is seemingly harder than one would expect. How does one feed those who won't respond to anything, those who are absent? Only communicating on a transcendent sphere? The stranger proves to be of a very spontaneous and creative sort. One after another, the fruits disappear Balch's nose. Then, the stranger begins to heavily blow into Balch's nose and immediately violently shoves the bar into Balch's mouth. Then, the stranger grabs Balch's body by the legs, carries him a few steps and binds the body bottom up on a tree. The stranger conveniently equipped with a bucket filled with some salt water big enough for Balch's head which is used to graciously sink the head into it. Balch's head drowned in the water rests there for a few moments. His head turns green and then blue. Like algae wades his hair slowly in the water when he awakens for a few jerky movements. He moves and longs for air as he feel himself drowning, he shakes his head heavily as he turns from blue to red.

"Just a little longer..." says the stranger. Balch body is shaking heavily but he is bound up tight. He is nearly unconscious. In a last stretch for survival, his body begins to tremble heavily, vehemently. A minute later he is weaker, almost still.

"Now!" yells the stranger and cuts the rope between him and the tree. Balch violently crashes to the floor. A few moments later when he came to, he breaks into a sweat and coughs heavily . The stranger was gone and as Balch laid there in the forest he saw the face of the moon as the mist has cleared.

A dizzy Balch is one his way to the place where he met her last time, the fireplace. He walks with heavy steps under the moon light guiding his way. He wanders for a while only to vomit in the midst of his path. "I feel... terrible..." "Just a little while longer... I'm almost there... back to you... I'll... oh I pray to god, I hope you are alright." "Oh... ohhhhhh..." he breaks into tears and goes down to his knees... he cries bitterly... "Owwhh... owwhhhh... god why... please..." It starts to rain before his eyes. He can't feel the drops at first but then they hit him like ice needles one of the others.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh! Nooooo..." he cries and cries. "What did you... what demon did consume you." he screams and it all comes back to him as animals run away around him. Flash. A ghost. Flash. A woman. Flash. The devil with a white face. Yes, it's her. A horrifying grimace right in front of him, ripping his life out of his body. "Nooooo... ahhhhhhhh... stop..." He vomits again... "Uarhhhghgh.. aurghhhh... oarghhh...uhhhgehggrghghgh.." He spits. He spits again. He spits five times. "What...in lor...oarghhh...uarghhhh..arugghgh". He leaves a colorful, awfully smelling disgusting trail of vomit behind him. His nose starts bleeding. "I'm going to die here... what in lords name...what..." He faints.

He wakes up again. "My... head." he says with a tired voice. "I need to pull myself together... I have to be strong... for her... come on Balch... let's do this..." He pulls all his remaining strength together and eventually reaches the fireplace. He knows that he will find a special someone there. He approaches the young woman and finds her in a deep slumber. He lays his hands around her neck and hand and says: "Wake up... please wake up... we need to go." She does not wake up and Bach looks up in the sky to see the moon. For a moment he wonders if something is wrong with his eyes but with terror on his face he realizes that the mist is appearing again. He shakes her, his energy and determination returned to him in the face of danger "Wake up! wake up!"

The stones are in motion again. They stack in a place near the fireplace and begin to resemble the human body with limbs and legs.

The stone titans have arrived. These titans, a head smaller than the average human being materialize when the mist is approaching but hasn't reached its fullest presence. They are fast yet wander with heavy steps breaking up the earth and stones beneath them. They hurl their hand stone parts at their victims and gather new stones to become whole again.

There's at least 20 of them. She is not awake. Balch looks around desperately. He grabs the young woman and carries her on his shoulders. He runs. He can hear every step of the titans; one stone is flying past his ear another one lands in front of his feet. He grabs one of the stones and hurls them back at one of the titan. The titan collapses only to rebuild a few seconds later. Balch keeps running. They arrive at a wide lake, the moonlight illuminates a small hut with a boat on the opposite site. They are trapped, there is no escape. The titans are coming closer. Balch picks up a stone but in that very moment one of the titan rams him at full tilt. The young black haired woman falls to the ground, her head is bleeding. Balch, touching his body in pain crying.

"You fool!" A figure cloaked in rags with a walking cane rushes to the scene. The figure hits the titans one after another with precision and great violence. They collapse like houses of cards but the impact they have on the earth is devastating. Several stones fly towards the figure who parries them all with precision.

The mist is getting thicker. Black roots with red leaves rise from the earth like living dead. They dig themselves up and down with speed and hit their victims with a whipping sound. "No way..." the figure says while parrying the stone attacks.

"I will show you a way, hehehehe." Chupacabras materializes out of black smoke in front of the shining moon falls down from the sky. Chupacabras is wearing an amulet around his neck. He raises his arms in front of him . "Take this!" Flashes leave his hands and hit the Black roots. They go down in flames and keep burning. A stone is flying right towards Chupa. In this very moment the figure sends the cane flying hitting the stone with precision in mid air. The figure sprints towards the cane and grabs it. "Nice going, pal!" jubilates Chupa.

"Watch your back!" and the figure hits another stone to protect Chupa. The mist is getting thicker. In the faint reflection of the moon a feather drops on the lake. From up above black demonic ravens come down with deadly claws and sharp beaks. Balch reached the lake and looks to the hut at the other site. "Help! Somebody... anybody!" The huge ravens are flying in circles around them. There's a lot of them. 20, 30, 60! The figure and Chupa are still fighting off the foes. One of the ravens prepares for a nose dive, headed towards Balch and the black haired woman. Balch moves his body over her to cover her up and protect her when he hears the thunderous sound of houses neighing above them in the distance. 2 flying horses with 16 legs each and electric sparks between them and the chariot they are carrying are accompanied by a very mechanic sound. The rider is none other than Walter Bernhard himself. Standing tall and ready with his gauntlet and hand clenched to a fist, his horses ram into the ravens who are sent flying down into the sea. "Ahh.. Ahhhhhhhh! Look! Gaze at this beacon of power!" screams Walter Bernhard as he takes care of the ravens. The nose diving raven is pulled up to Walter's gauntlet as if a force was carrying it up. Walter grabs the raven by the neck and splashes it. Walter in the air and the two on the ground are engaged in fierce combat against the creatures of the mist.

"Pathetic!" screams Walter Bernhard. His chariot is loosing altitude and they reach the ground. The chariot steamrolls a few titans and tramples roots. "This is how it's done! But your toys away!"

"Here!" yells the cloaked figure at Balk and throws the cane to him. "Into the lake, hurry!"

A confused Balch catches the cane and after a moment of hesitation he throws in into the lake. From the tip of the cane the lake starts to turn green and muddy. A few moments he can see a light being lid at the hut on the other side. "There!" Balch sees someone in motion. The boat is being readied.


	6. Ch 6 - The Markets

A light fog has engulfed the perimeter around the lake once a place for visitors, wanderers and tourists to enjoy. The people of Kranstein are often seen walking uphills to see the beautiful lake and sometimes loving fathers and mothers take their families to catch some fresh air; to inhale the beautiful scenery. So it occurred just like that one one lovely day. You meet a woodcutter and carpenter in his best age with a gracious beard and a life loving expression on his face. This wealthy carpenter owns a nice gallery in town where his customers come to see his work. The hut is barely the size of one person and a half. A big person could easily touch the ceiling with his arms raised up. (said woodcutter crafts all sorts of devices; he serves prestigious customers like the lord of the castle.)

The woodcutter, Gerald, guides hist last visitor for today through his hall. A wooden desk approximately 4 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width. Two pillars hold the desk like a clamp on its sides. On both sides left and right 1.5 meters of space and then there's the wall. A meter deep into the wall are windows 4 on the right hand side. Inside of each of these windows are different wooden works displayed like seats, puppets, kitchen devices and many more. Gerald takes great pride in his innovative interior design. Today however was not about his hut and the business but all about his family. He is wearing a brown west and brown pants made of wool. His hair is brown and his eyes are green. He is a well mannered and good faithed person but there is one thing he really doesn't like.

"My lady, what are you doing?" Gerald asks the customer. The elderly woman with jewelry on her fingers and an absent expression was shoving some bread and cheese into her mouth. One of those hard and smelly ones."What is it... what is the matter...?" she muttered with grumps of bread falling out of her mouth. A disgusting sight.

"You are _not allowed_ to eat in this hall!"

"N-no?!" she beeps insecurely.

"No!" Gerald snarls back at her.

"Well," the woman with an annoyed and irritated expression, "fine then...!" she utters with a distressed and trembling voice.

She leaves Gerald's workplace with comfortable steps. Gerald looks back for a moment to see if everything was in place and order. Outside Gerald closed the door behind him and in the moment he put the key into his pocket he saw his wife and kid approaching. She had brown hair, full red lips and a fit attire. Her expression is relaxed and satisfied. She loves her husband and her child. Her name is Carla, 29 year old and their son's name is Lexandre. Lexandre is 10 years old. He is a sleepy fellow and would rather stay at home all day long than go on a field trip. Not today. Today his mother called him to get up in the morning, Gerald cooked and prepared breakfast and the boy cleaned the table and went out with the dog. A perfect little family. It's true, they are even quite happy.

Very, very happy even. Gerald gives Carla a romantic kiss and hugs his son Lexandre. "Hi my darling." Carla said to Gerald. He gives him a loving hug." Something's bothering you.." she says with a teasing, bothered voice. "I'm alright. I just had to throw out a woman earlier. She ate in the hall and you know that I can't have that. I feel bad for being so rude but what's done is done."

"Gerald!" Carla is surprised and a little bit shocked. "You know you should be nice to your customers. Especially to old grannies. You know how god forsaken they can be sometimes."

Gerald chuckles loudly: "Hahaha... well, the way she was eager to let her food disappear one might thing she was possessed by a horrible demon. One that likes to eat. Like a lot!"

"Gerald, you!" she slaps his chest. "What was that for? Son , tell your mother not to beat up your father." Lexandre hugs his mother. "Now, let us go. It will be fun but it is going to be a long day." Gerald says.

They walk through the main square of Kranstein. It's quite a busy day around the markets. More busy than usual. They hear cheerful music near of them. Town musicians are playing a nice tune for a small audience delaying whatever business they intended to go about this day. "Madam, you lost something." says a young woman as she give the silver coin to Carla. "Why, thank you! That's very nice of you." The busy woman with blond hair is immediately on her way again without paying Carla a second look.

A person with a comfortable look gives a street trash basket a forceful kick. Then he sent a wagon full of apples flying. One upright citizen whistled to get the attention of the perpetrator but to no avail. A few moments later a arguing couple passed by. A lady in her 40s called to the couple. "But what about all these apples in the dirt!"

"Shut up you dirty whore!" yells a young knight.

Gerald walked down the road to see in which direction the attackers were headed. He sees them vanishing in a side alley. He approaches the damaged chariot and the couple, one young knight asks him. "Ser... do you know who owns this chariot?"

"One of the merchants I think right over here. I know the people who work here" answers Gerald. " You see," begins the knight. "My friends here... they turned on my wife. So I talked to our leader... and then they got laid off.." "I see... well, the owners of the chariot should be right here, tomorrow I believe." "Thank you, goo ser." the knight implies a saluting gesture and heads off with his wife.

Gerald must be confused by this occurrence. He has seen a lot in Kranstein, the good and the ugly. The rich and the poor. The able and the disabled. There are all sorts of wicked and troubling figures and Gerald has seen most of them. Gerald feels that things have changed however over a couple of years. It's always been an interesting place for as long as he can remember though he didn't live in Kranstein for all his life. He met Carla in a different and bigger city than Kranstein. 6 years ago they moved to Kranstein with their son and a lot has changed since then. The town has grown. It showed this day.

Gerald, Carla and Lexandre pass a few more market stands when they see a caravan of 10 to 20 cars carrying goods under its wraps. Gerald knows, he as seen these caravans a few times before. In that moment they hear horses approaching. The fully armed soldiers with their sheathed swords are carrying the signs of the crown. The sign is the shape of metallic gauntlet with a wooden diadem supported by the fingers. Gerald has never seen so many soldiers in town. They usually come 4 soldiers at the time. Something is different this time. The riding soldiers approach the caravans and begin to enclose them. The confused owners of the caravans look at each other and then at the soldiers. One of them approaches the leading caravan. "We are here to take the caravans and everything they contain, in the name of the crown, abandon your horses and stand back." The merchants break into a nervous banter as they call each other and come together. One of them steps up to the knight soldier and she says. " We are here to bring what was demanded of us. Seeds, fruit, meta, cheese, wood, vegetables and ores. You have been taxing us more and more as of late. We need some for us to live, you can't have it all, the remaining resources will be handed over to you. Not more and not less." she says with an angry, loud and stressed out voice and for a moment everyone was quite to stomach the ever rising tension. The merchants engage in thunderous applause. She continues: " There is nothing they can do, we will leave your goods here and then we will go." The top cars are handed over as they release the horses carrying them. The horses run into different directions, right past and into some soldiers. The knight leader raises his sword. "Swords!" the brigade raise the swords. Gerald grabs his wife by her hand. "Come, quick!"


	7. Ch 7 - The Markets 2

The silence breaks into a tumultuous scene. Gerald grabs Carla by her hand and she grabs Lexandre's hand. Together they try to find a way to escape the enclosure of the knights who are busy avoiding wild horses and trying to keep the owners of the caravans in check. One of these owners collects some of the ores and woods which have fallen off a cart from the soil and returns them to their place.

"You, step aside!" Yells on knight at the owner. The owner quickly notices the knight and grabs a pitchfork from the back of the cart. "Come, get it!" screams the owner. The knight rushes towards the owner to assault him with his sword while the owner hurls the pitchfork towards his feet. "Huaaaarghhhhh..." the knight falls on his back. 7 cars already escaped successfully. The female leader of the caravans takes the pitchfork and violently rams it into the the knights abdomen. Slowly the knight succumbs to his pain and dies. "PIG! You pig!" screams the female blonde leader with a pony tail at the dead knight. Carla who sees this as they pass by the scene says to herself with a faint voice: " Oh lord... have mercy on our souls... Don't look Lexandre... ". Lexandre is afraid, his tongue is tied. The female leader yells: "Everyone come here". 12 caravans are ready and begin movement in her direction. The knight leader takes notice of the development and orders his soldiers: "Knights! Take the blonde one!" 9 soldiers rush with their horses towards the woman. In that moment arrows come flying down from a distance outside of the enclosure. They hit 5 soldiers who fall to their death. The remaining quickly rush towards the female leader. She removes the pitchfork from the knight's blood covered abdomen and hurls it towards one of the horses sending the knight flying to her feet. She grabs him by the neck as to hold him hostage. "Now go!" she yells and 7 caravans with their owners and horses are in movement at once. The owners ready their weapons while the female leader takes upon the remaining soldiers. She is strong indeed, a force to be reckoned with. With her brute strength and brutality she breaks the neck of a horse which was running towards her after she quickly took one into her gridlock. She takes the sword that fell off one of the soldiers armor and she engages in a slaughter with the remaining fiends. It is a bloodbath. No one in Kranstein would dare say that they have ever witnessed such ferocity and hatred in battle. She is muscular with no trace of joy or excitement on her face but the will to kill and torment every living thing daring to stand in her way. The path is clear now. Only the knight leader who is in defense now, without sufficient reinforcement forced to retreat from the scene, leaves the remaining occupied soldiers to their destiny. Victory is near. One jubilant owner approaches the blonde female leader as to thank her. "Aurelia, we did it!"

"... you did... what exactly?" she stares back at the owner with a disgusting grimace. She grabs his head and squashes his eyes into the back of his head, blood flowing down between her fingers. "Auhaaaauauaauaauauauughhhgaughh" screams the blind owner in terror. The company of owners are in complete shock. Their leader whom they had put so much trust in to set them free from injustice and chicanery has come to stab them in the back and cut their throats open like cattle when they least expected it. " The rest comes with me or you will suffer the same fate as he did." She points with her blood soaked finger at the whimpering soldier. A few are ready and a few are in hesitation. One owner motivates the others "Let's go, we are better off with her than with the crown. You stay back, you die!" The owners whisper to each other for a few moments but they are afraid and agree to go with her. A few caravans however refuse to go with her. One of them speaks to them angrily as they are leaving. "Remember us Aurelia, remember us because we are the people who won't forget your treachery. We'll remember you too, you coward deserters." One of the owners who goes with Aurelia looks back at the young man insecurely, as if he was meaning to stay, scared and overwhelmed.


	8. Ch 8 - The Luminous Lake

The situation has calmed down. The few remaining owners who refused to go with Aurelia and her people have made their successful escape. What a pity that a carefree family trip would turn into such a nerve-recking incident in the middle of Kranstein, one without compare for that matter. "I saw her... Aurelia." Carla says. "They will be alright. She has good connections to the workers and traders... I didn't expect it to escalate the way it did to be honest." Gerald is frowning. "Yeah, I know. There were plenty of knights though..." "Are you alright, my son?" he grabs Lexandre by his shoulders and pulls him to him to give him a pat. "What was going on there?" replies Lexandre. "We'll talk about it some other time, we got something planned today still, do we not?"

Carla, Lexandre and Gerald are almost outside of the town when a soldier stops them. "In the name of the crown I must order you to stop at once and follow me outside of the town into custody. You may wish to resist but I will not hesitate to take one of your arms and legs if need be."

Carla steps in front of Gerald. "You do know who you are talking to right now? His name is Gerald, he owns the gallery in town, I'm his wife." She steps back to lean on his shoulder with a self righteous but by all means a very charming grin on her face. They are a very attractive couple, not many would deny them a favor or decline an invitation. From behind the soldier another high ranking knight approaches his comrade. "What is it, why are you hesitating." The agitated soldier responds: " A Gerald character and his lot are on they way to leave the perimeter. I put an end to them trespassing the area and will put them into their place immediately." The knight visibly turned red as he uncovered his sweaty and chubby face as he lifts his visor. "Did you say Gerald?" he says to the soldier in an enraged fashion. His face turns pale for a second as he catches a good look on Gerald, Carla and Lexandre.

"You goddamn cretin!" and with his arm he rams into the soldiers head. The soldier tumbles around for a moment but he regains posture quickly. " Gerald and his family are not to be bothered, don't tell me you didn't know. You sonovabitch! You could be losing your head over this incident, I could lose my head for this."

Gerald intervenes: "Nobody will be losing anything today as far as I'm concerned. The situation has been confusing and exhausting in its own right. I don't want to further complicate the matter today." The high ranking knight responds: "We are as confused by the uprising as you are. We are in the midst of investigating and will give you a report on the situation as soon as we have solid proof leading us to the traitors and any collaborators. "You are so very courteous." Carla says. "We, however, are on our way now, come Lexandre." Gerald waves a short goodbye to the soldiers and then they leave this mess for good.

It's in the early evening that day when Lexandre and his parents travel near the high lake. A few sun beams escaping the leafs and branches to tickle the faces of its inhabitants and visitors. Lexandre sees a little squirrel crossing the path they are walking on. It is holding something but Lexandre isn't quite sure what it is but he knows that the squirrel dropped it on the left side downhill of the path. He sees how the squirrel is rushing downhills into the greenery to get it back, presumably. "Did you see this, mother? A squirrel ran downhill there, so cute." says Lexandre. "I did, we don't see those often in town, don't we?" she pats Lexandre on the head. They wander a few moments further uphill when they arrive uphill to on an even field with a nice wooden hut 200 meters near them.

"Family!" says an excited Gerald. "We have arrived!" Lexandre runs ahead towards the wide open lake to to see the reflection of the sun on it. Dawn will come soon. "I'll be preparing food, I hope the hut is open." says Carla. "Let me check." says Gerald. Carla chases after Lexandre to lift him into the air and back. Then she lies herself on her back and sighs: "What a day... well at least we finally arrived."

"Carla!" yells Gerald. "It's open, I'm heating the water!" Carla raises her head from the earth. "Alright, I'm coming!... (just a few seconds more, I need to rest for a moment)." "Hey Gerald, you know what, actually? I'll go swimming here as long as the sun is still shining." She immediately jumps into the lake. "Wowser, it's refreshing!" Meanwhile Lexandre has taken a piece of paper he has brought with him and starts sketching the scenery. He is an amateur still but he is not without talent. One day perhaps his art will be beloved and known by everyone who is interested into art and with an eye for nature's details. The sunset has set in. Red and orange beams are drawing the shapes of the clouds as the burning sky is lid up in an atmospheric color. Tonight they will eat and enjoy a their time together, appreciate the wonders and surprises of nature. As the clock strikes twelve and the family comes together to watch the sky, they see flashes of red, green, blue, yellow light in the direction where Bernhard's Castle should be. It's a New Year's Eve. Gerald and Carla kiss each other under the light of the miraculous magic radiating above them. A fascinated Lexandre has taken his sketchbook again to examine this sorcery for he has never seen such a spectacle.

"You must know my son." Gerald informs his son. "What you see here is magic but then again it really isn't. The castle is a place of experiments and technology, Friedrich Frankenstein, a renowned scientist is employed there. He is crafting things we are not likely to fully understand in our lifetime. He does, and that's why he is so popular. Some people are scared and are afraid of what might come from unholy work but when they could see his work hands on maybe they would understand. People are living difficult lives, they work and provide for their basic needs and the crown. They are so preoccupied with their work; leaving no time for thought and questions concerning their circumstances and how to improve them. Unfortunately the crown isn't particularly... motivated to act right now.. but who knows, right?"

Lexandre seems to be in thought. " I guess... the crown depends on its people, does it not? So maybe what the crown is doing can't be all wrong. Erm, I mean if they didn't do things proper they would cease to be... I think." Gerald smirkingly nods to his son. " I guess... yes, I guess."

"Son, is your father lamenting about the condition of our societal order again?" Carla snoops. "What do you mean, again?" Gerald is raising his chin. " I knew it." says Carla while Lexandre is nodding vehemently. "Gerald, you know the world is not simple like that." Carla begins. "You have to think about all the oppressed women, I mean, just think about. Women are treated horribly in Bernhard's Castle, they have no respect there. There are so many interesting ladies and queens out there from whom we all could learn, very smart and talented, like I can't believe it. I have heard of a great learned nun quite, she lives quite a few months of travel away from here, she is supposed to be very gifted in medicine, magic, music..." Lexandre interrupts: " What's her name?" "Her name is Hildigard... please let me finish, Lexandre. Anyways, some of them suffer from great abuse but some hold immense power too...like maybe someday the actions of this people will move this still life for good. What I'm trying to say is that the river will change someday..."

"Uhm, what are you talking about, Carla?" Gerald interrupts her lecture. "I'm talking about... would you kindly just let me finish?" she replies in an agitated way. "Anyways, as I was saying: Ever newer water touches a woman's feed..." Gerald looks at Lexandre: " Boy, I have no idea what your mother is talking about." "Me neither." Lexandre says. "Mother, what are you talking about?" "Uuuuuh..." Carla sighs in a frustrated way. "Let's just call it a day and rest?" So they rest for this night. The moon shines bright as the fog and dust from the fireworks has cleared away. Atop a tower in Bernhard's Castle, Friedrich Frankenstein oversees his subordinates working on different gadgets. Dozens of small cannons are lined up on the roof of this tower where they launched the firework.

"Sir, were you satisfied with the results?" asks one scientist who has traveled quite a distance to share his expertise with Frankenstein. "Yes, splendid results, splendid. I think however we should do bigger next year, the colors should be more intense and the light needs to be bigger and brighter. Han, how high and bright can you make them?" A surprise Han responds: " Well, technically very bright and they can get all the way up... everyone must have seen them already, technically." Frankenstein says:" I want them to be seen all the way down to Kranstein, the whole damn city shall witness." "I see, Frankenstein you must consider that this would be very expensive. Acquiring all the materials and synthesizing it would require enormous effort and resources. I could work half a year for just that extra height and bright. Please, Frankenstein, reconsider. Is all this worth it for just one night and a few minutes of light?" inquires Han. Frankenstein raises his voice: "I need it. I need it. I need height and bright. Big, beautiful colors and it needs to be so bright and so high, I want even my grandparents in Kranstein to see them." Han is surprised: "Your grandparents are still alive?" Frankenstein remains silent for a second: " Yes, they are beneath the earth... don't be ridiculous, they are dead! Look at me, I'm old." Han is relieved: " Good, because I'm not wokring for dead people."


	9. Ch 9 - The Lake

It is a cold evening with a thick fog having a grip on the air above the High Lake near Bernhard Castle. Balch hastily carries the young fainted woman to the boat. A black root captivates his feet. The cloaked figure rushes to him and unleashes a powder on the root. The root goes up in a huge flame engulfing the nearby roots as well. The man who came with the boat, an elderly man with grey hair and a grey beard gestures to Balch to place the woman in the middle of the boat. "Here, take this!" the elderly man says with a even voice and hands him over a cloth to cover her up. "She must be freezing, it'll keep her warm." "Right." Balch answers. "Sit!" the elderly man yells at Balch. "Wha...what?" Balch response. "Y..yes." In the moment he sat down the elderly man presses an oar into his hand. "Now, we row!" and the elderly man begins rowing. After a moment of hesitation, Balch joins the action. "Fast, young man, fast!" he yells at Balch. "I'm doing it... I'm going fast." Balch responds, he already is in a sweat. " Faster! Faster!" the elderly man yells again while rowing like a machine. "I'm doing it as fast as I can." Balch responds desperately. The boat is floating at steady speed now in the wide open lake. On the side where they started rowing, the now flaming black roots walk from the coast into the lake. Where the lake was once green and muddy, it now carries big, cascading flames erupting from the surface of the water. The cloaked figure witnesses this and stands like frozen, looking at the boat in the distance.

"Not good... not good!" Chupa, who is still preoccupied with fighting the stone titans seems worried about this development. He dematerializes in a fog and from the earth the fog wanders with speed up into the air, up, further up, where Walter Bernhard is fighting off more ravens. He materializes on the shaky back of one of the 16 legged horses. A dead raven's corpse is flying closely past Chupa's face. "Hey, old man. Look down." Chupa tells Bernhard. "Who are you calling old, you little rat?" He looks down and sees a good portion of the lake in towering flames. "Hah! Looks like the devil brought us a little gift."

"Gift? Gift?! Burned alive, they will! Old fool!"

"Not when you do your little smog magic." Bernhard points at the ravens. He puts his horses to a halt. "Frankenstein, what is taking you so long?" He raises his gauntlet arm into the air. His gauntlet begins to being covered up in a bright electric glow. Suddenly a giant bright bolt hits his gauntlet, illuminating through the fog, revealing the full moon behind it. The electric static illuminates the flaming lake.

Back at the boat, both men are in a sweat now. They see the flames coming. "Oh no... what do we do?" Balch says stressed out. "We keep rowing, son." the elderly man consults him. "Why us... why is everything seemingly going to shit?" Balch laments. "The more you keep talking the more you are running out of breath and your little self fulfilling prophecy will come true. Look at what's ahead, don't get lost in your own thoughts in a situation like this. If you and her want it to make it out alive today, you better keep your muscles strained." the elderly man says indifferently. Balch looks nervous. "Alright, we can do this... for her, then..." he looks at her sleeping face. In that very moment a towering flame erupts right in front of them, rising high. Through the bundled flames a terrible demon from hell shows itself, with a melting hot steaming breath. 8 horns pierce through its head, countless shells are covering up its body, its feet are two large oval shells floating in mid air carried by the towering flames. Legend has it that this creature of the lake, Beelzebub, lived on this mountain centuries ago. One day however he angered the demons from the sea, which he detested.

In their anger, the demons from the sea sent a flood up the mountain to bury him forever at the place he called home. Legend has it that every thousand years Beelzebub wakes up and consumes all people swimming in the lake and floods all nearby towns after it is done.

Balch feels the heat burning on his face like hot iron, he quickly buries his face in his arms. The elderly man grabs his arms and puts them down. "No time for that... keep it up!" A black shadow rushes over Balch's arm and past the tip of the boat. The shadow rises and explodes in mid air, covering the area around the boat in a shadow, dark spheric shelter. A furious Beelzebub releases 2 shells, radiating towards the boat. They bounce off the sphere into the water as Balch and the elderly men keep rowing. In the reflection of the spheres Balch recognizes what appears to be outlines of Chupacabras. "Chupa... is that you?". Balch mutters. They are getting close now, a few minutes left to reach the other site of the lake. Beelzebub lets go a terrifying roar as the entire lake illuminates into the blazing hell fire unleashed.

"Walter... I can't hold it any longer..." Chupa communicates while holding up the sphere. Countless feet above Walter Bernhard's gauntlet is glowing. "Alright, then." "Demon from hell, people of Kranstein, every corn, every insect pay witness to this enormous gavel striking down and shattering the earth. Bear witness to the power of the Bernhard family, the land bending to over will, even the devil bowing at your feet.

 _Condemnare, Regni Terrestris. Sed Non Secundum Hanc Vitam Vivere. Tenebris Lucet Clarissimum._

Bernhard clenches his gauntlet to a fist and points it down. From his glowing gauntlet a dark, bloody viscous matter emerges and in that moment thousand blazing bolts hit him. Dark bluish bolts radiate from all around him and down on the lake like a monsoon. The flames struggle with the raining bolts for supremacy, but the flames succumb, slowly giving rise to the sea of blood and dark static thunder. Beelzebub trembles due to the influence of these dark bluish thunder. The elderly man witnesses all this in disbelief: "Dear heavenly Father... had I not seen this I wouldn't have believed it..." The elderly man stands up and yells from the depth of his lungs: " _For all that is good and brave, can even the devil succumb to darkness_?!"

Th monstrous downtrodden Beelzebub is caught in a ever down-pouring torrent of thunder while hard water is erupting from beneath as if nature was meant to subdue this entity. Where once the hellish eyes of these monstrosity were beaming steam and destruction, a thick viscous disgusting darkness is now leaking out of these pores. The flames levitating Beelzebub suffocate, leaving its shells falling down like rocks to the lake. The boat and its passengers have almost reached its destination when it is caught be the tidal waves, flooding them on land of the far site of the lake.

"...Ber...Bernha...Wa..." "Bernhard can you he... this is Fra..." "I need you to return to the ca...immedi..."

Balch awakes, he feels soaked and cold as he looks around for his companions, the crash hit them hard. He looks around and sees his friend, the young black haired woman. She is still not responding, Balch grabs her and carries her on his shoulders when the elderly man wakes up. "Arghhh... we must go … quick." He raises himself from the floor and gestures Balch to follow him. With fast steady steps they run towards their destination, the wooden hut. As they enter, Balch notices the interior, a cramped room with shelves filled with books, cases, bottles and barrels. "Put her on this desk." As Balch puts her down he feels her temperature and blood coming from her noes. " She is ice cold... oh no... is she even breathing?" He puts his ears to her breast. He hears her heart, he feels her body rising slowly and the lowering again. The old man is making noise as he is taking out a book from a shelf and throws it on the floor "It should be here... somewhere..."

Balch grabs the book. "Leave that... just wait... it has to be somewhere … here..." Balch looks at the dusty, weathered book and opens it. On the first page there is an illustration of a remarkable gate which might belong to a noble castle or a sanctuary. Below that gate something is written. _Hil. C._

A name, initials, two names. "Wait... this is... could it be... you?" He looks at her.

The elderly man notices his babble. "You... can read?" "Yes." Balch answers and points at her. "But it seems like she was working on thi..."

"Speak no more." "Find the page about Truben liquor. Then look for all the ingredients here, they are all labeled. Mix it together and give it to her. Quick, she might not have much time left if her breath is low. What about her face?" asks the elderly man. "Her face? I mean... she is bleeding..." He looks at the man in confusion. "Quick, quick, prepare the Truben liquor!"

Balch takes the book and works through the pages. Most pages are illustrated but the old font is hard to read. " There... Truben liquor." He learns about all the ingredients and prepares them one by one. One paste in particular stenches awfully while a few others are regular herbs and alcohols. As he pours them all together as instructed the liquid turns clear and warm. "What is this?" Balch wonders in disbelief. "It's alright... at this point it should be ready to give it to her... just make sure there are no lumps left... stir it up good and it will be fine."

He opens her mouth carefully and pours her the liquor, after a few seconds she coughs and begins to drink slowly. She begins to shake, her temperature is rising. "Now we wait for it to take effect. Take a seat, you need to rest."


	10. Ch 10 - The Hut

A lit candle in the center of the table where Balch is sitting is spending some light, solace and a little warmth in this restless hour for everyone inhabiting this hut. It's been a nerve-recking, unexpected and certainly unwanted adventure. Balch still struggles to wrap his mind around everything that has transpired. First the circumstances leading to her collapse, to the appearance of the people who lent aid to them and the menacing demonic creatures that have haunted them relentlessly. Everything happened so fast and hit them good. They never asked for this. Never asked for a myriad of challenges testing their very limits of endurance and strength of mind while surmounting one death trap after another. Only a transcendent conspiracy could have had it out for them. A carefully planned and executed conspiracy to threaten his and her life. Balch is in thought, trying to make sense of everything but his heart is reaching out to her, she who must have suffered the most, weakened to a state of apathy and motionlessness. What kind of force could be so powerful to strike down a once so lovely, bright and kind spirited woman like her?

The elderly man gave them new clothes and carried the old ones outside to dry. Balch sneezes. "Ohh... damn it..."

"Here, have some tea, son." says the elderly man as he gives him a mug of tea. Balch sips. "Uhhhh...hot." "Yeah, hot, what did you expect?" snarls the elderly man. They stare at each other for a moment. "What about her?" asks Balch. The elderly man walks towards her. "She is recovering... the Truben liquor will do the rest." In that moment the young black haired woman begins to shake. The cold cloth on her forehead to cool her falls down, she is about to fall from the table but the elderly man stabilizes her. She coughs heavily.

"Uaghh... uaghh... uaaghhhhh". "Uaaaaaghhhh..." she coughs and it looks like she is about to vomit but she holds it back. "What is happening... I thought the medicine was supposed to help her?" Balch is scared.

"You have made a mistake... the Truben liquor is absolutely harmless. A small mistake however... " he puts his hand on her forehead. Balch face turned pale. "can have... lethal consequences..."

"No... no... I prepared everything according to the recipe... I... I'm not feeling well..." The young woman stops shaking. "Dear father in heaven... " says the elderly man as he looks at her in horror and puts his ear near her mouth. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Father... please guide this unfortunate soul from her eternal slumber to you, in your warm and bright embrace. There, she shall find peace. Amen."

Balch is in tears. The elderly man removes a blanket from a window to the opposite of the entrance. As he removes the blanket and the dust is swirled up and down the bright light from the half moon is shining on the table where the young woman is lying. Her black hair, full lips and face are more lovely than ever. Balch looks at her and even though he can't clearly see her through his tears he says... "You are so beautiful... and kind... you meant so much to me... even in death it looks like you are smiling..." He turns and storms out of the hut leaving the dust and the dead behind him. The fog has cleared now. He kneels down and only sees a devastated lakes through the few beams touching his eyes and tastes a metallic scent in the air.

While kneeling he raises his head up into the air: "I curse YOU... do you hear me? I CURSE YOU... you false GOD?! Do you even EXIT!? If you.. if YOUhhh.. if you...really loved me... why would you take away from me my beloved. She... who was so sweet and kind... she who gave purpose to me... saved me from my own folly and despair...tell me... God... what is an angel to you... What is one angel of many in Heaven high above when one outside angel on earth can cast aside all pain, fury, sorrow. What is one angel to you... you don't know... you don't know a candle in the dark in your realm of light. You don't know the fear of darkness, a cold breeze freezing you to death... a world without light, without hope.. is not a world I want to live in... " He crawls slowly, leaving the hut behind him, he notices the devastation beyond at the other side, the feeling of destruction, he crawls into the sea. With his head above water in the cold sea he cries: "Take me then... take me away from here... this night is over..." He lowers his head into the cold water. He can feel his body become stiff, a thousand needles are piercing through his skin. He can see a full wavering moon through the waves in the reflection... he stops feeling himself...but for a moment he feels warm... he hears a faint voice:

"B...b...B...a..L.c...H..hh... N...n...n...O..oo..o.o..."

The water begins to tremble enormously. Thick beams are touching his body, preventing him from diving any further. A shell is levitating behind his back supported by the beams. He rises and rises. He is shaking enormously when suddenly he his erupting out of the water accompanied by a fireworks of geysers all around him. Roots are coming up from the ground to further carry him with the shell to the land. He is still blinded from the water... but as his body is slowly lowered to the ground he recognizes contours of two people. Fine rainy powder is showering down on a man who supporting an exhausted, yet concentrated woman one one shoulder, with her left stretched out arm and her open hand pointing to the sky horizontally. His vision becomes clear. He sees the face of the one he thought he had lost. His beloved. He is loosing conscience.

"Ca...m..."


	11. Ch 11 - Castle-mania

Slowly and steadily Balch, still resting on the shell, is being lowered to the ground with the help of the forces of nature, summoned by the very young black haired woman who as awoken from her deep slumber, a state where the spirit is drowned in the deepest abyss, the darkness of existence. The Routines Of Light as they are commonly known in these realms, are special ceremonies carried over from ancient times, collected for centuries and studied by our young lady here. These Routines grant those who have mastered them after periods of meticulous study powers to shape this world, powers which require a connection to the earth, the sea, the air and to one's own body. There are only a few with the conviction and determination to surmount these trials. She is one of them, she has been tested and she has succeeded in many fields but her trials are not yet over, so many powers still to gain, so many routes still to travel, so many hidden Routines to uncover. Oh, am I glad to see you back amongst the awoken, breathing fresh air, feeling the earth beneath your feet again. I never doubted for a second that your rescue would fail, that everyone would bravely shield you from the odds. These cowardly villains who have plotted against you in the shadows, my dear Lady, will get to know me, me and my wrath. I wonder whoever is responsible for this ravaging assault? Who could accomplish to breach all defenses set in place by Bernhard and his lot? Now that you are awake again I will make sure that the necessary precautions are made to get rid of every single death trap left in this forest. There won't be any conspiring shadows lurking the corners and caves for a long time after every single _snake_ I find is wiped out one by one. I feel sorry for the boy, he has fought so very bravely but now pays the price for his final recklessness. This incident does not bode well for her, she has been close friends with him for a long time and a long time it might take to rekindle it. I trust she will recover soon and reembark to being that extraordinary woman I know and respect so dearly, I'm praying towards the day on which I will meet you at last. Rise now my Lady Carmilla, this waning crescent marks your return to the Castle.

The elderly man stems Carmilla on his left shoulder and together they move to a soaked Balch in the shell. "Thank you... I can go on my own now.." Carmilla thanks the elderly man. She looks at Balch who seems to be deep asleep, his face looks like stone yet his expression is careless. Carmilla softly touches his face with her smooth and gentle fingers. "What happened to you?" she says.

"You two went through hell and back as far as I can tell. Do you see a damaged boat on the edge of the lake? " the elderly man tells her. "We crossed it, we passed through a firestorm , you might feel the burns on your skin. The noise was enormous, it sounded like the end of the world. When you were still unconscious in the hut, your friend ran. He got no nerves. It seems like you are the one who saved him now." The elderly man falls down. He is breathing very slowly and seems in pain and his view is distant."You are completely exhausted. You need sleep right now, you look not good at all." insists Carmilla. "I... will carry you home." She drags the elderly man back to the hut first and lays him on the table where she was resting earlier. She takes a look at the interior, sees all the cupboards and its vials, the books and unlit candles. Indeed, with a snap of her finger she lits several candles. She returns outside and tries to get a glance of her surroundings. It's still dark but the waning crescent sheds some light on the area. On the lake countless roots and shells cover it. She notices a few raven feathers too. The scene is bewildering and doesn't make much sense, the lake has never been in this state of chaos. She drags the shell occupied by Balch, which looks like one of a giant tortoise, to the hut. At the door she stops and looks at Balch. "It's time to get you out of this... thing." She tries to get him out but fails. "Nuaghh... get out... come one Balch... lend... me … a …. hand..." He is not moving an inch. "It's futile.",Carmilla acknowledges. She looks at the door and sees that he won't fit through there... "I might as well try..." She waves one of her arms and moss-covered roots dig through the earth, placing themselves on the shell. "Alright... here we go... Steady!" The roots push and in the very moment the wall surrounding the door collapses immediately. She is angry. "Like I needed any advanced escalation of the situation." "Oh well..." She places the shell near the table and arranges some candles near it. She undresses Balch. "Alright Balch, I swear, I'm not looking." She removes his shirt. She notices his well defined abs and raises her eyebrows. He is in very good shape overall. "... handsome ." she blushes. She removes his pants presumably without looking and covers him up with a dry blanket she found lying around. With a candle she looks at his body again and examines it. His body is covered with bruises, burns and his feet are swollen and have a nasty bluish color. "I'll have to treat you..." She looks around and notices the open book with the page about the Truben liquor. "So that's how it is... this explains why I feel like a drunk bat." Without hesitation she gathers what she needs. Cloths, a scissor, a bowl, plenty of different vials, a needle and a thread. She opens a few vials and pours them together. She drowns a cloth into the mixture and begins to treat Balch wounded spots on his body. "This will get rid of the demons infesting your skin." Now she quashes a few roots and leafs resulting in a pulp of green. With her hand she eagerly rubs his body with the pulp. "And this... will ease our pain... though I'm not sure if you feel anything in your state..." "I don't even know what happened to you... to me... to all of us." The elderly man coughs. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Carmilla inspects him. "I've seen better days... even though that has been true a very long time ago... ha." "Do you remember anything that happened before you came here, girl?" "No... I remember being with Balch in the middle of the forest... wait..." in that moment pictures of the horrible scenes she has suffered through came back to her mind. "I remember... a thick mist surrounding everything, I had trouble breathing. Balch's cold skin... I thought he would die..." "Nothing felt particularly real when the mist appeared... I felt my body fading, my skin was eroding..." she touches her face, rubbing it vehemently. "I thought I was going to die... I thought everyone was going to die. I can feel it right now. I can feel my heart pounding faster with every single memory coming back to me. I was so scared." she wipes off the tears from her face. "... next all I remember is that I was walking. It felt like I was walking for hours... I was walking aimlessly in the midst of nowhere with no one by my side and no purpose." Carmilla is crying bitterly. "I remember vividly the boiling hatred I felt in my stomach", she says with a hollow voice. " I have never felt such a consuming disdain for my surroundings. I saw everything with a clear and sharp vision in that moment.. I saw the dark evil essence of everything.. sorry... I'm bothering you... I must be experiencing the emotional aftermath of my unconsciousness." The elderly man laughs and coughs. "You do well to remember that... and to express it. Sometimes it's good for your soul to let go of your worries. The important thing is not to get lost in senseless blabber and self-loathing."

"I... don't intend to." Carmilla replies. "Very good...ahhh" the elderly man sighs. "I'm sorry... I did not ask you for your name..." enquirers Carmilla. "Call me Thomas." answers the elderly man.

"Thank you for everything, Thomas. I trust that I can leave you alone for now... as for Balch here... he will need time to recover." she brushes through his blond hair. "His skin is very dry. Weeks, more likely months will pass before he wakes up. I can't carry him all the way up to the castle... I will leave him here ... someone will come to transfer him in time." "I see... I see..." Thomas closes his eyes, he is sleeping. Carmilla moves her lips for a soft blow, all candles in the room extinguish immediately. The castle is in reach within 2 hours, she will collect her energy and walk there as any hostile encounter is rather unlikely as she considers the state of havoc the lake is in now and the Castle must have been in a state of alarm.

"Hey, get that over there...!" A few hundred soldiers have assembled on the green earth before a side alley entrance of Bernhard Castle. This side entrance is a gigantic pathway with high rising black towers with lid torches on top which pave way to a huge, ample hall, the most spacious and busy storehouse of Bernhard Castle. One high ranking soldier, a well fed man with a big belly and strong legs in his 40s with no substantial hair on his head is ordering his subordinates to arrange planks and barrels on a wagon strapped to two horses. "Get your act together, everyone. We don't have time to waste time all night, pleb. If you keep working slowly like this everyone is at risk of losing a head or two, pleb. Hey! You there! I'll send you home to your mother with only a shirt and a broken leg if you entertain slacking around like this, pleb!" scolds the high ranking soldier one subordinate who is eating some broccoli, every bystander can hear the undigested grumps sticking in her throat rattling up and down as she panics. "Guarhghh..ugahgrh..." some of the undigested broccoli falls out from her mouth as she says: "I-i-m sorry, captain." she coughs like she was about to die any moment.

"Sister, get your act together. We'll all lose our work here if the captain gets any more livid. He is going to explode, do you want that?" says a soldier with a deep voice quietly.

"Ahh! No no no no no..." she replies. "I'm sorry captain. It won't happen again, captain! Please excuse my moment of absent absentmindedness..." she throws away her brocolli which lands on the face of another by standing soldier, then she implies a salute as she raises her ventail from her lightweight silver roots garnished helmet. Through the ventail bright emerald green eyes show themselves, one would usually expect to find versions of these in a dungeon hidden away by a generic pirate where they keep their precious belongings. The captain's face is turning red as if he held it over an open flame. "I'm not interested in your damn drivel shtick, pleb! Come here, you will carry the planks on your fragile back and you'll will be working without a single break till' tomorrow midnight, pleb! Understood, pleb?! What will you do till' tomorrow midnight without a break, pleb?!" The female soldier takes her hand down and clenches it, unperceived by the others, to a fist as though she was restraining herself. "Yes... sir... I mean... captain." She goes off in her silver armor to pick up some of the planks, just enough to appease the condemning glances of the captain and just plenty to not collapse under the pressure of shouldering them. Her other companions continue their work on placing the material on the wagons as they get ready one by one to leave the side alley and wander towards their designated destination. "All right, then!" yells the high ranking soldier. "Time we got you back to some proper work, pleb!" he spits and hits a cup at the floor which resounds in a high pitch ding.

A few hundred meters in the distance in another wing of the castle, Frankenstein is overseeing reparations in an assembly hall. From the ceiling diverse, metallic tubes and apparatuses which look like they have been patched together sloppily by someone without proficiency of the craft, from scraps and waste of a junkyard and the unused remains of metal and carpentry shops. Some of them are moving as though they were rattled by magical hands, up and down, left and right without halt, shining a bluish light every few seconds, spending a few shades of light on the shadows of the dimly lid assembly. Frankenstein is accompanied by his scientist colleagues who are working on different devices in the assembly with some of his lead staff surrounding with him what seems to be a quick solution of an operating table, a few workbenches placed together and a pillow to cushion the head of the supposed patient.

"You need to be quicker about removing and reconnecting the conduits next time, the zero voltage condition must not last longer but a few seconds." Frankenstein tutors one of his disciples eagerly. "No! No! No! No!... ahhh.. yes! Just like that... HAA HAAAAAA. Just like this, now you are showing progress!" jubilates an ecstatic Frankenstein at the sudden display of professionalism and skill. "Everyone, watch closely, you scrubs can learn something from him. Did you see how carefully he reconnected that section right now?" he picks up a small sharp like metallic branch from a smaller table. He looks at the sharp metal with a beaming expression: " Behold! A few more seconds of unconnected contact to the body and result would be immediate death of the patient! Well done, colleague, you avoided utter catastrophe in a matter of split seconds! HA HAAAAA HAAAAAAA! You there, step ASIIIIIIDE!" he points at one scientist who quickly steps aside in the moment Frankenstein throws the sharp metal just narrowly missing the bystander. It flies for a few moments, a few meters later it lands on the floor and gives way to a electromagnetic fire explosion of considerable proportions. Had there been more wooden interior the whole room would have burnt to the ground in number of minutes, nevertheless, by the sheer destructive heat and energy a hole was burned into the ground, deep and deeper giving way to dark smoke emitting from the area of impact. The scientists eyes are wide open and their chimneys are hanging low as a ripe fruit, inconveniently for a situation when fumes of a most likely unhealthy nature are entering their lungs. "Guarghh..guarghhh..." Frankenstein coughs. "No windows in this room unfortunately... open everything else but keep your mouths shut...huehuehue huaHAHAHAha...guarghh.." a panicking Frankenstein runs away and out of the assembly, further fueling the irritation and fear of his disciples.

Through the hole, beneath the assembly, ashes are falling down into a large, seething pot in the middle of the room filled with a meaty, redish soup which seems to be a Goulash. A large man comes to stir the bubbling soup which could feed a hundred men in one day. The cook is a large middle aged man with big proportions all around, his belly is larger than average both in width and height. In his apron he is walking around to get a sharp knife hanging from the ceiling to cut more meat, and taste some of the cooked meat simmering over the fire. His assistance is placing the food on plates and are adding some vegetables to it. The cook is leaving the kitchen to walk into the refectory. The refectory is a big hall with 4 large tables and a bell and a fireplace near the entrance of the kitchen. On the wall of the fireplace there are two paintings on each side one, depicting two noble ladies. The refectory is filled with a dozen screaming and drinking uncultured soldiers waiting for their food to be served. Some of them are having a laugh while gossiping. A drunk soldier is removing his shirt and implying with his hands that his belly is growing. "... and then he said: " You, woman, will take the planks and spank my butt, pleeeeeeeb!". " the other soldiers are bursting out in laughter, one coughs heavily after taking a gulp of wine. A fellow soldier comes to his aid and pets him on the back a few times. "You're alright, mate?" "I'm fine!" he wipes the wine from his mouth and clothes. "Anyways," continues the entertainer. " don't ever pick a quarrel with the captain or you can kiss your sad ass goodbye. You'll be send fighting creatures abroad and die like a hen prey to a fox. You know what they say about them monsters, right?" the table has become dead quiet and the atmosphere is now filled with anxiety and unrest. The entertainer puts on a most serious face. " They cut off your limbs and peel your skin while you are still alive. Imagine the hellish pain running through your body when they slowly scrape off the skin off your back." Everyone is silent, the mere thought of these unholy creatures frightens everyone to the bone. "They legend has it, that one of these creatures has found their way into this very castle." Everyone at the table is looking at each other as though they were trying to stare down the ghostly expression of themselves. The voluntary entertainer walks around the table while saying: "That monster is very frightening. When you are sleeping in your comfortable bed at night, and the clock strikes twelve o' clock and you wake up drenched in sweat... you look LEFT you look RIGHT... you here a suspicious noise... but you see nothing... only a strange crooked noise going "plhh...plhh...plhh.." From the ceiling a few drops are landing into the cup of one soldier and as if the situation demanded it, in that very moment they hear a thunder, a storm has come. Everyone is distracted for a moment and didn't realize the entertainer disappearing. In that moment, the cook has come from the kitchen and while everyone was chattering in the hall he rings the bell for a couple of times. **DONG DONG DONG**

 **DONG DONG DONG**

DONG DONG DONG in the midst of the ringing they hear a disgusting bewildering noise but can't tell where it is coming from: "plhh...plhhh..plhhh...plhhh..plhh" DONG DONG DONG

DONG DONG DONG "plhhh... .." the people at the table are getting nervous when suddenly rain is falling on their faces from the porous ceiling, extinguishing several candles, wrapping the refectory in nautical dusk. DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG, the sound of thunder shatters the refectory. "plhh...plhh...plhh..plhh...plhhh" DONG DONG DONG DONG

Suddenly a shadowy creature is sneaking up behind one half drunk soldier who is preoccupied with his wine. The creature goes "plhh...plhh..plhh..plhh...plhhh" and the bell goes DONG DONG DONG DONGDONGDONGDONG a thunder strikes again and the hellish creature with a melting face seizes the foolish soldier by his neck with slimy and wet paws and screams hellishly "PLEB PLEB PLEB... PLEB PLEB PLEB PLEB" and the foolish soldier screams in a moment of mortal fear: "Aahhhhhhhhh... help...help! let go of me demon... help... help!" and the creature goes "PLEB PLEB PLEB... noooo... soldier... today you die... by the hand of your own... captain.. PLEB PLEB PLEB PLEB." The foolish soldier tries to rid himself from his grip: "Nooo... I did nothing wrong... I swear... let go of me captnnn... let go of me, please... wait... you said captn...?" The room is illuminated again as the kitchen assistants bring the food and rekindle the candles in the room. The creature from hell turns out to be none other but the entertainer soaked in rain and with some wax sticking to his hands and face. The table breaks into an amazing laughter and chatter at the display of the waxed entertainer as they realize the absurdity of the scene that just had transpired. "Wuahahahahahaha, that's a good one...hahahahaha... he went like "pleb pleb pleb" ahahahahaha...genius...simply genius...hahaha" "Did you see how frightened the poor fella was, no chance in hell he is going to recover from this anytime soon...ahahahaha" "This is the most scary plebidity...or whatever... I have witnessed in my entire life." The kitchen assistance are done with serving food to the table, Goulash and pork and leave for the kitchen again while the soldiers start eating. The entertainer takes a big spoon of Goulash and burps loudly. The exuberant mood swaps over to the other tables as they commence their dinner. They will eat now for the coming day will be long and arduous.

Had it been under different circumstances, Carmilla would have taken a walk through the most beautiful gardens of Europe, the Maze Gardens. The Gardens have the reputation of "eternal beauty", its flowers shine brightest, its bushes are thick and friendly, its statues are of monumental design, its fruits are sweetest and its trees are most magical and the animals living there are happy and peaceful. Tonight, however, Carmilla will take a different path, a secret tunnel will lead her directly into the heart of the castle. She tries to order her thoughts about what had happened. Balch's unconsciousness, Thomas coming to her aid, the devastated lake and the memories haunting her. The recent events have taken a weird turn and she can't shake off the feeling that whatever is coming next will be as unsettling and challenging. She is walking with steady steps, she knows that she can't waste time considering circumstances of this most recent incident when she is to help Balch recover quickly. Then there are also other matters she is required to pay her attention too in the Castle. Now she has reached a dead end in the midst of the tunnel but she can see some light coming straightly from above. She is in a wide, cylindric fountain of the size of small chamber in which three people could stand to her side each. On the top she can see demonic gargoyles being attached in a circle near the exit of the fountain, looking down at her menacingly.

"Alright." she says. She looks up and sees at least two hundred meters separating her from reach the ground above. "Oh boy... dear lord, I pity everyone who actually has to climb up here." she says with ironic premonition. She gloriously waves her hands and beneath here roots and vines rush through the earth, patterned in stone. They entangle her arms until they can't be seen and slowly begin to raise her up into the air. As she ascends she can feel the cold light of the waning crescent touching and illuminating her skin to a pale yet dainty color, pronouncing her full red lips. She can't help it but to smile back at the moon to whom she thinks has bestowed her with a moment of atmospheric spirituality and peace of mind. "I adore your beauty... I feel close to you when you shine at dusk... you spend more warmth to me than the sun..." she whispers delightfully as she does reverently and closes her eyes to full embrace the light of the night.

She ascends through the exit of the fountain and the vine and roots release her at a floor, revealing to her the ground towers and fences of the Castle Courtyard. An elegant slender young man in a black suit, black trousers, a six-button double-breasted tailcoat and a gray vest, sporting white gloves, short black hair and a most noble walking cane is waiting at the opened fence leading to a black gate guarded by stone lions. The slender black butler as he is commonly called in the rest of the Castle, is approaching her elegantly playing around with hi cane. He looks at her with a charming smile and says with a soothing voice:

"My Lady, I notice you prefer to take gondolas of the... how should I phrase it... extravagant kind. I take it from your shortcut that you are not fond of climbing, don't you enjoy a little challenge some time?"

Carmilla responds to his taunting remarks with an equally taunting, sarcastic smile and by rolling her eyes, she says engagingly and with a melodic voice." Sebastian, you need to know one thing about women... we don't climb uninviting, deadly mountains, or explore the deepest dungeons in an attempt to find the supposed treasure of a gone pirate. No, Sebastian, women must rise to the challenge. We don't despair, we grow with every step we take." Sebastian takes her hand and looks into her eyes for a second and then he kisses her hand. He steps back, playfully spins his cane and points it to the black gate.

"Welcome back, Carmilla. We have been anticipating your return." Carmilla looks around to get a sense of the scale of the the Courtyard. Her blackout seems to have clouded her recognition of once familiar areas. She is surprised at the massive black gate, the lions, two death reaper statues towering from the sides of the gate's wall, guarding over it. With a slightly gazing face and opened mouth, she admires the incredible architecture of the massive towers and their flying buttresses in the distance.

"What is the matter, my dear Lady?" Sebastian asks. "Do you not recognize your home?" Carmilla feels as she if she was caught eating sweets before lunch for a second but then shakes her head still marvelling at the Castle saying: "No... no, sure, I recognize it... it's just... everything feels so... reborn..." She slowly walks towards the lion to the right hand-side of the gate and as she touches the lion a sense of profound, longing nostalgia overcomes her. She knows this lion, she has known it since she was a young girl. She used to play around her often, sometimes alone, sometimes with other children and a few women looking out for them. Her thoughts snap back to the present as clouds lay themselves over the waning crescent, cloaking the Courtyard in darkness.

"It's time..." she says still pondering about her earlier days here. She walks towards the gate and tries to push it open but to no avail, it is locked. "That would be a little to convenient, wouldn't it." Sebastian points his cane at Carmilla, at its top a blue key is attached with a chain. Carmilla laughs at her amnesic episode and takes the Moon Key which is required to enter the Castle. "Where would I be without your lending hand right now, Sebastian?" She walks to the lock apparatus and points they key towards it which levitates from her hands into the apparatus causing the gate to open itself into the room with cracking noise. Sebastian smiles and walks past Carmilla while spinning his cane saying: "It appears you did not forget everything. Come now Carmilla, the Castle awaits you!"


	12. Ch 12 - A Silver Girl Is Dangerous

Gerald is back in Kranstein where he has a good glance over the central square of the town, watching the usual commotion of traders and professionals of various crafts in action. But today his interest points his eyes towards a particular outstanding architecture, a large, wooden building with 4 hexagon like towers extending from the front to the rear like shoulders pf a very elegant and unseen style and architecture. This building was erected by foreign hands for no one in Kranstein is known for such visionary craftsmanship let alone for having the relationship to a supplier possessing these most smooth planks of which the foundation of this building is made. As Gerald looks around to see the markets in tumultuous action as usual he notices something different in the behavior of the people. Many are crowded together in small groups. whispering in each others ears, gossiping by the looks of it. But he did not only see the change in the behavior of the people, when he walked through the town, he felt it, he felt the secretive gazes of the people looking at him in suspicion, some even closing their windows when he was walking by. The recent incident visibly distressed the populace of Kranstein, never had such open violence occurred, a clash between knights and the common people. He was reflecting about the situation when he was together with Carla and Lexandre at the lake, he couldn't quite shake off the feeling that maybe this time things got out of hand in a way they were not supposed to, damaging to the well being and feeling of security and stability of the people. He decided to meet with someone in Kranstein with whom he could further discuss the happenings of a few ago. He approaches the soldiers guarding the entrance to see the Lord of this most exquisite estate.

One of the soldiers approaches him and asks: "Pray, ser, what brings you here today? Do you seek the Lord? I'm afraid he is not here today…." Gerald shakes his head and responds: "The Lord should be here, he usually is. So, please, grant me entrance ." The soldier looks at his companion with a confused expression. The second soldier musters Gerald for a second and then he disappears inside the manor for a few moments. He returns and gestures to his companion to clear the way and says: "Very well. It appears you are free to enter. Gerald it is, right?" "Yes." Gerald responds. The soldier nods to his companion and they open the door for Gerald. As he enters the manor his heart is filled with joy as he sees the fascinating hall of this estate. Every surface is shining in a bright brown color, every surface polished like the finest stones. An unlearned eye would assume that this was colored stone, a special marble perhaps but it is something entirely different. In front of him various green plants are decorating the hallway to straight stair branching to two arching stairs left and right leading to the second floor. Everything is very orderly looking, the stairs are leading to the balconies on each site, with various doors on these floor on each site. It is a very bright hall, the air is nice and the floor is nitpickingly clean. He walks up to oval shaped stone statute with water sprinkling on top of the sphere. He dives his hands into the notch and pours some water into his hands and splashes it on his face. "Formidable! This is exactly the kind of refreshment I have needed." Some water has hit the floor and what he witnesses now immediately overwhelms him with wonder. Every inch of the wood the water touched began to gleam like the sun, reflecting on nearby places, emitting a warm glow, diving its surroundings in perfect harmony and easiness. Gerald is awestruck by these feelings and in this moment a man of some extend and with short gray hair and a distinguished demeanor on the second floor is smiling with a knowing expression and utilizes a lever next to him. Suddenly a circle part of the ceiling opens itself up and down pours water like a soft rainy shower. Warm light beams release themselves from every corner the water touches. Gerald feels the light around him, energizing his very presence. "Am I dreaming? It feels… like heaven."

The distinguished gentleman takes the stairs down to the hall and as he steps down his appearance becomes visible to Gerald. Grey hair, a smoothly shaved beard, distinctive facial features with a slight indication of well fed chubbiness. He is wearing a well suited gray coat with a military west like garment beneath it. His pants are gray and look airy, his gray boots appear novel, rare and of foreign design much like the rest of his appearance. "You feel it don't you? The warmth on your skin, the warmth of your surroundings. It is engulfing your every part of your body and your soul. You feel it in your lungs, you feel it in your blood, you feel it occupying your thoughts too. Do you like what you feel?" says the Lord with a soothing voice. "Very much so..." Gerald responds still in awe. "Yes...ahhh… can you heart it?" The Lord presses his ear towards a plant. "Can you hear it? Close your eyes..." The Lord remains silent for a moment as though he was meaning to listen with all his attention. He raises his head and says with an elevated expression and his eyes still closed: "Hear, feel. They are alive, talking to us. Not just mere plants or greenery without soul. They tell you many things." Gerald tries as he might, but he can not hear a single word coming from these plants. "Of course, it takes practice, a connection to these blossoms on an earthly sphere." Gerald raises his head and shakes it. The host smiles. "It's fine. Some things require deep introspection… I take it that a quest for introspection is what brought you to me today?" Gerald nods. "Fine, then. We have plenty of time. Come, let me show you something." Gerald smiles back. "It's good to see you again, Renard." They take the stairs to get to the second floor. Several portraits of the lineage of the manor are hanging on the walls, fine paintings, very detailed, precise and glamorous. A portrait of Renard is also hanging at a penultimate position. The last portrait in the succession is that of a young man with exquisite fine and extravagant clothes of blue and gold cloths. The portrait is of such masterful craft that one can see the cunning expression of that man with an equally smoothly shaved beard and piercing eyes, much like his father Renard. Gerald is struck again with a sense of reference as he musters the portrait which is the newest addition and hasn't been hanging there the last time he met Renard, neither has he met his son before but he has quite the reputation in the realms and he is eager to meet him someday. They walk into one of the rooms in the middle of the path on the second floor. The room is slightly different in appearance than the previous ones. Very much like a small shrine chamber, the walls are of solid gray stone and at the far end of the room there is a small platform holding a small blue gem. "This is a precious stone." says Renard while smiling like an excited apprentice. "Give me your hand." He does as required and in that moment Renard quickly pulls out a knife from the platform and cuts a painful wound into the flesh of his hand. "Aghhhhhhh… " he quickly pull his hand back. " Are you mad?" Gerald yells resoundingly in a mixture of irritation and anger. While he was looking around the room looking for something to treat his hand with Renard grabs his hand again and puts the blue gem into it. Gerald tries to pull back his hand but he quickly realizes this futility as Renard is far from a fragile man and holds his hand in a tight grip. "Ohhhhh." Gerald feels his pain fading as blood and wound are disappearing but not only that, the cut he got when he was in the woods with his family was gone too. "So, what do you say?" asks Renard with his eyes and mouth wide open. Gerald studies his flawless hand. " I'm no stranger to magic, one hardly can be when occupied with Castle affairs, but this is beyond everything I've ever experienced." Renard puts the gem back onto the platform and explains. "This is our latest discovery. A synthesis of technology and faith. It heals small wounds and injuries. It is not final, we still don't know everything about it but one thing is certain: The angles are jubilant for God has bestowed us with a gift to uncover the secrets that grant us insight into the ways to heal our world." Gerald musters and feels his hand again; he has learned of a truly magnificent stone.

"So much for our latest achievements. We hope to eventually produce quite a few of them and then… well, you know, the things humble people do in this world. Make it a better place." Renard pads Gerald on the back. "Follow me, I kept you waiting long enough, I suspect there is a pressing matter relating the recent incident in this very town that lead you to me?" Gerald's heart stopped for a moment. Of course Renard would know about it, however the light casualness in his voice and expression left him nervous for a second. They walk out of the room back into the main hall on the second floor and go to the opposite site of the second floor into another room. "This is my study." A simple room with a table and two seats with two cupboards and plenty of books filling the spaces. There are plants near the table and exotic plants in the corners of the room. The room is warm and bright, with a clean thick carpet on the floor and an open window and a smell of fresh plants and something in the air. 4 small steps lead to the table and through the window behind it the Kranstein marketplace can be seen. On a wall behind the table he sees the Lords overcoat, beneath it he sees a piece of cloth, the sigil of the crown. The gauntlet supporting the diadem. Gerald would recognize it anywhere. "Please, have a seat. Do you want some water?" Renard asks. "I'd appreciate it." Renard pours Gerald some water. "How's business lately Gerald." Gerald smiles lightly. "I'm doing fine, people are ever in need for class carpentry." Renard laughs happily. "Oh, I should know. I'm one of your customers after all, hahaha. That reminds me that I have a new request for you. I need a few new pieces of furniture..." Gerald nods. "I'm sure we can arrange that. I've got to keep the assignments coming." "You see." Gerald begins. "The reason why I'm here is as follows. I'm certain you are well briefed on what occurred in the center of this town. Many people lost their lives, soldiers, peasants, workers…" He sighs for a moment. "Families… families, Renard." "What in gods name happened on that day. This is not the usual conduct of this town, isn't it?" His voices is trembling. In that moment the pictures of violence and chaos hit him again and with force. He thought he took it resolutely but in the moments leading up and into this office he couldn't help but feel things have gotten horribly wrong this time. Renard's expression changes from soft to serious. "I assure you Gerald, I feel the exact same way you do. It was a very unfortunate escalation on both sides. I could never say that the soldiers of the crown didn't make mistakes. Because they obviously did. In the end they had to make a decision and restore order..." Gerald feels his anger building up. "Order? Order?! They slaughtered their way to the goods of the workers with blood. Is this the crown to you? Is this what this city is supposed to be? I don't believe they are in such dire need of resources to justify a bloodbath like this." Gerald feels how the anger is working within his body, he meant to speak this words for quite a while, he now realizes. Renard is drinking water. "Yes, mistakes were made, undoubtedly. God forbid, what could have happened if that wild woman, that Cleopatra were to run havoc unchecked. If you don't know, she was leading the caravans against the knights. " Gerald nods. " I know… I have seen her." "I see, very well then. You need to understand Gerald, the crown is indeed in need for a continuous flow of resources, they can be quite rigorous about it. And this isn't the first uprising of this kind in the realms. I come around, Gerald. I hear the tales of marauding mobs, of kidnapped children, destroyed homes, abused wives and disfigured husbands. Popular uprisings are sprawling and spreading all across the lands. I have heard of a movement, a new group is forming in the western lands. They call themselves the Participation Movement. I can't tell you any details about their purpose, numbers or organization since not much is known about them but what I'm trying to illustrate is that they are recruiting, spreading their believes when the opportunity is there." Gerald raises his eyebrows and he gazes for a moment with his mouth slightly opened. "I'm intrigued, Participation Movement you said? What could possibly go wrong?" Renard tries to force a weak smile. "You always had good humor…. Wait for me for a second, will you? I need to get some water." Gerald looks around. Various books, and scrolls are scattered all over the table, he notices this circumstance since everything else in the mansion has been rather orderly and tidy. Beneath a few scrolls he recognizes yet again the sigil of the crown on one piece of paper. He looks behind his back to see if someone is coming but he can neither see nor hear anyone coming. He struggles with himself for a moment while deciding whether or not to take a look at the scroll but finally decides to do whatever and take a hidden look. He is curious about his surroundings and even more so after the incident. Today he feels like it was the right thing to take a look at something that doesn't belong to him but his exchange with Renard leaves him no choice and in his unsettled state he goes about it. It is a letter.

"From the New Capital. To the Lord of Kranstein.

In light of the recent events in Kranstein in which you, ser Renard, take responsibility for the official business and affairs of those who pass and live there, we have come to the conclusion that the outcome of the task we coordinated with you has been evaluated as unsatisfactory. Your order to deploy the knights and soldiers marks a first sign of poor judgment on your behalf. Furthermore, your order to have the caravans attacked has been evaluated as another misjudgment on your behalf. We consider it necessary to give you further directions as in how to proceed with the situation. How we plan to enforce this in detail, we will let you know. We stress the importance to not let the situation escalate any further. We will contact you soon to

put forth a plan to restore a feeling of security and faith of the people into its town and their officials."

He feels his heart sinking to his stomach. Renard's soothing words, all the reassuring and now he must learn of this farce? He hears steps approaching. He hastily puts back the letter underneath the scrolls from where he unburied it. Renard is entering the room, Gerald is looking at him and asks: "You know, I'd actually do really well with some water too."

Outside of the manor a few dozen soldiers are rounding up a few townspeople. One soldier points at a peasant and then at another. "You and you. Come with me. We're going to have a little interrogation. The rest of don't go too far away, you're coming next so make sure to not get lost." The armed soldiers lead the peasants into a nearby house. The remaining people go back to the markets under the eyes and stares of the soldiers guarding the area.

At another part in the town, Carla is at home with her son Lexandre, preparing a meal for lunch while whistling. Lexandre walks into the kitchen. "What's for lunch today, mother?" Carla is stirring a soup with some meat in it. "Meat with soup. You know, that juicy meat father likes so much." Lexandre is putting on an awful visage. "I hate soup with meat. I'm not going to eat today." Lexandre appears to be leaving but his mother holds him back. "Nah uh uh uh uh." She lifts him up and sits him on a chair. "I'm not the biggest supporter of soup with meat either but we have to make your father happy from time to time, right? Sometimes we cook his favorite meal, then we cook your favorite meal and sometimes we cook my favorite meal." Lexandre appears absent, he swings his feet. "Oh Lexandre, by the way, what is your favorite food actually? You see to be changing your preferences quite often lately." says Carla with a slightly irritated and confused voice. Lexandre is swinging his feet. "Hey Lexandre, are you listening to me?"

"What is it mother?" Carla sights. "What is your favorite food these days, you seem to have a new one every few weeks." Lexandre nods, swinging his feet. " Oh, yeah." "So?" Carla inquires curiously. "Right now… hm, let me see. Carrot pie. Sweet Carrot pie." Carla stirs the soup heavily. "Lexandre, we eat Carrot pie as a dessert, we eat that after we have eaten proper food. You can't base your diet on sweet stuff. Well, you technically can if you eat various fresh fruits on a regular basis, they provide a variety of nutrients and keep you healthy when you balance it with other nutrient dense food like….."

"Mother..." interrupts Lexandre. "What is it?" Carla responds. "Stop it, mother." Lexandre responds like the little spoiled brat he sometimes is. Carla appears upset. "If you act all arrogant like that well maybe I should not make Carrot pie for a while." Lexandre looks sad. "Or… maybe not." Carla mutters to herself. "I'm sorry." Lexandre says with a low regretting voice. "Oh, come here." she gives Lexandre a hug. "It's forgiven, son. To be frank with you, I've had some stress lately so please don't let anything I say to you get to your heart in a mean spirited way." "Ok." Lexandre nods. "Your father is late today. The sun will set soon. Ohh!" Carla gasps. "What is it?" says Lexandre hastily. Carla stares at Lexandre. "Something terrible awaits us. It's thick and fluid at the same time." Carla gulps. " More meat… and more soup… for both of us… especially for youuuuu… it's crawling down your throat...into your belly… make you strong…." she wags around with the wooden stirring spoon near Lexandre's head. "Mother! Enough!… Don't scare me like that...uhh." Carla smiles sheepishly. "Eat your soup, son. Come, let's eat."

It is in the evening again. A soldier in silver armor with a lightweight helmet is carrying a set of planks in the middle of the forest. She can see the light from a tower of Bernhard Castle in the distance. She is carrying the planks and she is jogging at a steady speed despite the burden she has to carry. "Puhh...Puhhh...Puhhh." She keeps jogging. "Puhh...Puhhh...Puhhh." She keeps jogging. "Puhh...Puhhh...Puhhh." She keeps jogging. "Puhhh...Puhhh..PuhhhhHUHHHHH,,,aahhhhhh,.,,whAuuuuaaahuuuuu." one foot of hers slipped right into a root, she tries to keep balance, succeeds in doing that for a moment resulting in a spectacular pose of trying to hold her posture but eventually falls and the planks together with her. "Wowww...ouuchhh" she laments still lying and the planks scattered all over the ground. "Ayup… no biggie… I gotta pull myself up and together… alriiiiighht." She pushes herself up quickly and in that moment a dagger speeds into her direction right above the opening of her ventail, sparing her green eyes from piercing. "Where… who….what?" Another dagger comes flying towards her hitting her helmet. She jumps back and lands sitting on the ground. "Ok, I'm getting really pissed off right about now." her voices changed from a rather whimsical tone to a serious one. She closes the ventail and sees only through the various holes of it. "Where are you… show yourself, shadowy villain!" Just as she finishes her words three daggers speed at her at once. She swiftly takes her right arm to her back as though she was to take an arrow from a quiver but as she puts her arm forward again a silver shield which is part of the back armor folds itself out as she moves it forward. The daggers repel from the shield and it resounds with three melodic gongs as the daggers disappear in the wood. It is surprising, for a lady of her posture she seems to be pretty good in controlling her movements. How did she become a soldier exactly, how did she learn to be vigilant and evasive what motivates her to go through the often mundane life of a fighter? There are quite a few questions I want answered, but now is not the time.

"Show yourself!" she yells at her unknown perpetrator. She starts running, looking for clues in the direction from where the daggers came from. She does not see anyone. But then! Again! Another dagger hitting her elbow. However this time she hears a rattle in the leaves and indeed a few hundred meters in front of her she notices a figure with a black cloak in the trees. Her eyes are in brilliant condition to see someone in the distance in the night so she runs to catch up however the figure in the black coat notices being spotted and climbs town the tree with tremendous speed. "You are NOT getting away!" she screams furiously, pointing her shield at the figure and begins to sprint. She hikes through the branches and leaves and sees the figure climbing down even faster than she is running. "Naarghhhhhh" she yells with determination towards the figure. The cloaked figure has reached the ground, taking advantage of the lead and climbing another tree. The figure looks back and quickly sends a few daggers flying towards her silver armor. They repel yet again with melodic dongs. Another dagger, but it misses her. She stops. This time she raises her left arm in front of her with the palm of her hand facing towards her at eye height. Her arm begins to tremble, twist and turn weirdly, like spasms her hand is shaking weirdly and vibrating chaotically. Steam is beaming from her arm through the cracks of the armor as it continues to twist and vibrate. Some nearby branches are lid aflame due to the burning hot steam. She rotates her hand and hot steam beams are being fired towards the cloaked figure. Branches are flaming above the attacker, making further climbing impossible. "Arghhhhhh" she screams and clenches her hand to a fist and bangs it fully into the ground up to her shoulder. The earth beneath her beings to tremble, lightly at first but then heavier and heavier. Various animals around the area are escaping and the attacker is hanging on the tree trying not to fall down as the tree shakes like a pendulum. "Huaaarghhhhhhh" she pulls her dirt covered arm out from the earth and continues running. All around her small steam geyser beams are breaking through the earth setting the ungrateful combustibles aflame all around the place Pheewwwww. It sure is getting hot in this peaceful little forest. She keeps sprinting towards her target more determined than ever. She has trouble seeing through watery helmet due to the steam so she removes her helmet in the midst of her heist. As she sends her helmet flying with her right hand the fire of the forest reflects in her emerald green eyes and her red hair is glowing like it burning in tandem with the sea of flames. Her entire armor is reflecting the fire like mirrors, she is a walking inferno. Her eyes are focused on her target. She breathes. " Ha…. Ha..." She is breathing. " Ha….Ha..." And breathing. " Ha…. Ha..." Her target is getting closer. She is gazing relentlessly at her target, her prey, which is hanging on the tree desperately, trying not to fall down. What a miserable sight. So weak. So alone. Hanging like a fruit on a tree about to be harvested. She is close. The tree is swinging mercilessly. A steaming hot geyser hits the back of the attacker and it starts burning. A scram. She hears it but can't make out exactly what kind of person or voice it is. Her mind and senses are filled with the sensation of a ravaging fire consuming her surroundings. She is close. Very close. Mercy. Mercy. Not her. Me. I demand mercy for that fool hanging there, waiting to be bested. She has arrived. "Auuuauuaaaaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhaghhhhh". Again she reaches with both hands to her back. She puts together parts of her armor to a weapon. Not a shield this time but a heavy axe. "Aaahhhhhhhhh". She is furious. She raises the axe to her back and hurls it in front of her into the tree. She is chopping. " Ahhhhh" Chop. "Ahhhhhhhh" Chop. "Uarghhh" Chop. She is chopping this tree down. The crown of the tree is burning and beneath it the attacker in his burning cloak is struggling for his live. But it is no use. This woman knows no mercy, she knows no forgiveness. She has been attacked and now she demands a clean slate. Chop. "Come down!" Chop. Chop. The attacker loses grip of a branch with one arm. He is about to fall. She smiles with an eager expression. " Good. Come quick, I'll show you a trick." She chops. One more chop. Flaming branches from the crown of the tree break themselves lose from the tree and fly towards her. "Damn it!" she snarls while readjusting her axe to the shield. She can't see, branches keep collapsing onto her. She hears the tree cracking and collapsing. She is hit by various parts of the tree. She tries to move but the branches are too heavy. She lies there, buried beneath the branches and reaches out with her left arm. "Arghhhhhhhhhh." A cascade of hot steaming beam is released from her armored arm and blasts away the breaches. She stands up and looks around. As the ashes of her trail of destruction rain down on her she realizes that her attacker has escaped. She lets out a scream that echoes through this night.


	13. Ch 13 - Morning Dust

Orange beams of the morning sun are flowing down tenderly through the branches on the earth touching the remains of the scorched earth in the forest where the steaming hot beams of geysers and sharp weaponry have laid waste on the land. The light lends warmth and color to the melancholy scene. A field of oranges shines now back to the sky instead of the grey of the ashes. The tides will wash away the sins of destruction and the scars of the past will give way to a spring of dawn.  
A dust covered dagger is stuck in a tree. As it lingers in the hurting tree a hand grabs it and pulls it out.  
A person in shining armor has acquired the dagger and musters it thoroughly. The knight of the castle tries to spin the dagger with his fingers, but without success and drops it. "Confound it..." the knight says, crouches and picks up the dagger once more. The knight raises, looks at her arm and dusts it off. There were the ashes once were the part of the emblem of the Bernhard castle is now revealed again for another part must have worn off in one of her strolls around the perimeter. As she walks off a wind blows ashes in front of her past her face temporarily concealing her vision. She is headed straight to Bernhard Castle to return the dagger. The castle is a place of amazing size and design and draws attention not only from mere peasants or walkabouts but more importantly maybe in the grande scale of things, visits from architects and other noblemen and noblesses who come and go to be inspired and spread to distant places their impressions and emotions they have learned and experienced during their journeys. Legends has it that the castle which has been under possession, care and construction of the influential Bernhard clan, at least as far back as the records pay testament to this claim, is supposedly home to witchcraft and demonry. Much is said and talked about the current Lord and head of the family and supposed master of secret occult traditions Walter Bernhard though most of it is found in speculation because he is rarely seen outside the castle lands except some very prestigious festivities and highly distinguished and rare guests that he should be spotted somewhere in the public be it far or close and then only at very specific and inconvenient times. The affairs of the Bernhard family are mostly shrouded in clouds of mystery and clouds of sadness must have hung over the stones and ores of which the castle towers are built when news of the passing away of Walter's wife spread many years ago. Not much else is known about Walter's relatives or history, these are secrets perhaps burried in a forgotten chamber in one of the many wretched dungeons looming beneath the castle grounds.

"Hush! hush now..." Sebastian said forecfully first and then with a hollow voice, trying to achieve a soothing effect. Two wolves are strapped to a chain in a small subterrean room in the castle, snarling angrily at Sebastian as they were about to put their teeth into his neck. "You poor fellows must be starving right about now... here you are." Sebastian throws them each 3 fleshy meats and they rush with their snouts to consume it. "You really were hungry!" The wolves appear satisfied... for the moment. "OK, let's go. Time to release you! Meet your lady today." So he takes them on chains through a door at the ceiling of this small lightless dungeon. With his elegant walking cane he pulls a cord down and as he does a stair descends down into the dungeon. They ascend into the Castle Hall, a large hall with huge round windows to the left side when entered through the main gate. The enormous red curtains are neatly tied to the sides. The ceiling is hundreds of metres above the ground like many places within the castle. A fine red velvet carpet with golden circular patterns is the first thing the foot touches upon entrance. The morning sunbeams reveal three enormous stone statues of irregular physical proportion, multiple layered metal knee protection with gigantic ornamented shields and lances tilted slightly away from the head carrying ornamented flags in red, yellow and black. There are candles lined up at the sides but they have been just recently extinquished. The hall leads to another hall and on its end there is a gate with grotesque gargoyles cornering its side. A dragon is each consuming the legs of a athletic man of roman design who is lying on the gate. The same hall leads to another hall with an exit to the right witch benches for hosting people for ceremonies. This church has a small sanctuary behind bars protecting various sculptures and relics of high importance. No catastrophe or assault shall break these bars for they are protected by magic seals.  
Sebastian walks with the wolves around as the early folks are coming into the castle carrying various goods in and out.  
"Good morning, butler Sebastian, ser." one elderly woman greets him. Sebastian takes a bow with the walking cane close to his chest.  
"Good morning. Ah, I see you are bringing the candles. Oh! You're bringing a lot of candles. Good graces, how can you even hold all of these... splendid... Oh these really look magnificent, I need to get in touch with supplier!"  
"Hahaha, thank you, ser. I'm on my way. I paid a good price for them but not half the price you pay me. Ahahahaha." she throws Sebastian a candle. He raises his cane and juggles the candle into his hand.  
The hall is getting crowded with people slowly but steadily. People exchanging morning greetings, discussing plans for the day and as they talk the chatter increases and blends into noise.  
"Open the door... why... open the door again..." yells one supplier as he finds the main gate slightly shut, unable to push his cart in. "The door needs to be open all the time in the morning."  
"The entire holy day!" yells another. "Oh come one, help me with this! Push. Push!" Together three men are able to push the gate open again. The cart filled with vegetables rushes past Sebastian who grabs a carrot with his cane as it rolls by. "One for me, thanks!" He takes a hearty bite and looks around the hall. His thoughts rest for a moment in a state of inner calm as he tastes every fibre of the carrot melting away and disappearing in his throat as he slowly pulps it. This one is deliciously fresh, he thinks to himself. He musters the wolves who have made themselves comfortable on the floor after their feast. Their fur is thick and clean, one white and one grey. They have been waiting to be released for a while now but recent circumstances didn't allow for them to run around alone and it's far to dangerous for those who live here. He looks around. The hall is in full commotion right now, unusual for this time of day and there are many faces Sebastian hasn't seen before. The wolves look at the direction of the gate at the far end of the hall and start running. Sebastian tries to catch the chain with his cane to which they were attached to but misses them by a split second. "Hey, where are you going."  
"Ahh." "What?!" "A beast, a beast in here, somebody help." The hall plunges into a sudden uproar as the people see the wolves wandering past them, some of them have never seen a wolf in their life. Others are more accustomed to animals and try to pat them but the pair of wolves are quite quick on their feet. "Oh sweet Marry... god help meh, god help meh!" a pair of elderly men and women are holding various vegetables in their hands as the wolves rush inbetween them and they fall over, some of the splashing to pieces, spreading on the floor. The wolves keep rushing when a single clap echoes through the hall stopping their agitation immediately and urging them to sit down. Colors of red, orange, green and yellow waiting to be picked up again catch the interest of a young woman who picks them up. "It would be a waste to throw them away." She musters them with her fingers for a second and then returns them to one of the farmers. "Here, have it back." she says. "Oh thank you." The elderly woman musters the vegetables she got back and her smile changed into a face of utter astonishment as she notices not a single scratch on them but the contrary, they appear to be in a better condition than before, ripe and juicy, no signs of dry wrinkles or dark dents. "This... this is a miracle my lady..." she shakes her head in wonder: "How?" The woman smiles back at her reassuringly:"It's no miracle. It is the way it's meant to be. Those who believe will see the world in all its beauty and clarity. Devotion to the father will guide you to yourself and towards salvation." The elderly woman's face show signs of awe as she longs for the lady's hand to touch it with both of hers. " Oh, thank you, thank you." she says close to tears. She wipes a tear off her face as she notices the young woman looking at a particular orange vegetables and as she realizes her desire she picks it up and hands it to her. "I see it in your eyes, my lady. This one will be yours today." The lady from the castle smiles with delight at the vegetable: "How forthcoming of you. I'll take it gladly." she raises her voice so the surrounding people can hear her: "Now I must go, we still have quite a bit of worked lined up." She claps her hands again and the wolves raise themselves from the floor, howling in anticipation at Carmilla. Carmilla beams at her wolves with a delightful countenance and posture as though she was about to embrace them. She does not however because they are already all over her licking her face off. "Hahahaha...ouch...not there, not there...hahaha alright now! Hahahaha... I missed you too, guys!" Sebastian softly scrambles through a crowd which is imbued with a sensation of collective awwness and cuteness which elevate their spirits to heights most unexpected but ever more so appreciated. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" says Sebastian. "Mmm, there is one thing I've been meaning to ask you, Carmilla. What exactly is it that you fed them. I tried a whole palette of meats, they ate most of it but they never seemed quite satisified, unfortunately." Carmilla looks at Sebastian with an insincere expression of sudden shock: "Ohhhh?! What have you done, Sebastian. You, my most trusted and loyal aide, that you would so neglect my precious friends in my absence." she holds her fake grimace as she bows down to cuddle with her wolves yet softening into an anticipating sheepish look. "Oh Carmilla, I must insist, please don't give me that. You know I never attended to caring for your pets." He approaches them bows down with a worried look, pats them slightly and mutters: "Are you alright?"  
Carmilla bursts into laughing. "Ahahahahahaha... they are fine Sebastian. Look!" Carmilla walks over to another woman carrying vegetables and fruits. She looks back to Sebastian moves her hand to an apple and pitches it to the white wolf who smells the apple and begins eating happily: "See, many people might not know that about them but wolves like these things. Here, she likes carrots." The grey wolves takes a hearty bite of the carrot. Sebastian looks at them in astonishment: "Oh, is that so? So they don't rely on meat entirely, huh?" "Of course they need a balanced diet still but they like a variety of things. They need to go out regularly, need sunlight and movement whenever they can get it. A basement is no place for them." Sebastian looks at her questioning: "Yet still we put them down here." Carmilla shakes her head: "I know. The rules of the house commands it that they don't run around by their own within the castle halls..." Carmilla shares a look with Sebastian, expecting a respond from his knowing expression: "Yeah, about their place... well, how should I put it best..."Carmilla mood seems to have taken a hit as she inquires: "How to put what? The terrain should be completed by now." She sighs. Sebastian says: "Master Bernhard asked to relocate resources and manpower to other sections within and surrounding the castle. I tried my best to make him reconsider but I didn't even get back an answer. Right now, construction is on a complete hold..." Carmilla looks the wolves with a slight indication of increasing anger as the muscles of her face change shape: "..." she is at a loss for words. "I'm sorry Carmilla... while we are at pressing and maybe somewhat depressing matters might I enquire how our stranded guest fairs?" Carmilla stands up: "He is in a well guarded bedroom in the north tower. His name is Balch. It will take several weeks for him to come to. Right now his body needs utmost rest and silence. Once his body has recovered somewhat on his own I will see to his further care." "I see." responds Sebastian. Carmilla continues: "All we can do now is wait. And no, we still don't have any information on who or what caused the havoc at the lake." Sebatian rotates his cane behind his back: "Some force of great evil, that's for sure. That someone or something could launch such a full scale assault at the lake and that within reach of the Castle of all places is bewildering. The castle has been in great distress ever since. Patrols have gone up and reinforcements are likely to continue arriving for the unforseen future." Together they walk to the entrance of the sanctuary. Carmilla holds the wolves at their chain: "It's a miracle that Walter allowed work to commence so everything is ready in a few days." she looks back eyeing the busy people. She smiles: " All of this is very important to me. People have approached me to call everything off but I think they are glad that I didn't. After all, we can not allow our way of life to be disturbed by evil doings and cowardice. I think this is what convinced him in the end. The mere thought of defeat and concession has him raging uncontrollably." she smirks. "We wouln't want that to happen, right?" Sebastian expression changes to a ghostly visage and confirms with a hollow voice: "Nooo... nooooo... that must never happen. Never must that happen." Carmilla nods in agreement. "Very well then, Sebastian. I will go now and oversee some of the preperations myself. After that I meet with Walter , governing staff and the high knights of the Castle to recall and discuss the events that occured on that horrible night. I'm eager to find out about the evidence and information they have collected thus far. I can't say for sure for how long we will convene so may I ask you to attend Kana and Koni during my absence? After all, you know how to feed them now." she smiles as she hands Sebastian the chain. Sebastian hurls his cane towards the chain. "But of course. Leave the to me." he says full of confidence in his new, untested abilities. He motions as to take Kana and Koni with him but halts for a moment to talk to her. They look in each others eyes and a scene of deep connection unfolds.

"Oh and Carmilla..." ~ "Yes?" ~ "It's good to have you back." ~ "You are not getting sentimental now Sebastian, aren't you?" ~ "Not sentimental. I feel happy, even proud to see you in rekindled spirits." ~ "But the fire burning in my heart wouldn't be anything without the stars that guide me through the unkown and cold night." ~ "Yet the stars only shine in the reflection of your light ,Carmilla. They shine by the power of the sun." ~ "Yet the stars shine brightest when the sun has vanished. They guide the wandering souls on their way from earth to heaven. God waits there, he waits to hold them in his warm embrace." ~ "What about the moon, then, Carmilla, isn't she the biggest and brightest star of them all then?" "The sun and the moon are twins. Beneath the surface of the moon, the deep sea that encompasses all is where the hearts of men and women reside."  
Moon and stars  
stars and moon  
how I hope to see you soon  
rock and stone, sun and mind  
oh sea of moon, please hold me kind.  
I wander in this night, this night I ponder  
I'm weary, hopeful, expecting wonder  
to see what lies within, I dive thither  
to your embrace, I will find, hither.  
~Carmilla

Lexandre is at home and busy with an activity that fills his heart with joy an excitement, drawing. He finishes a few lines and then puts his sketchbook under his arm to walk around the house. As one could imagine, the house of Lexandre and his parents is a marvel of woodcraft excellence and formidable comfort. A three storied house with his parents room on the second floor and his on the third floor. The kitchen and dining room are in one an the same place on the second floor where Lexandre spends a considerable amount of time of his days. The room is decorated with cupboards with transparent glass doors. Some filled with Gerald's small wooden statues, some with Carla's favorite books and scrolls about a wide range of topics though she has a thing for contemporary issues, philosophy and womens role in society. She is writing herself too, a cupboard is dedicated for her finished works and manuscripts. From the kitchen and dining room a broad stairway leads to the first floor. This floor is home to all kinds of raw materials Gerald needs for his work and it's also the floor where there is space for Lexandre to exhibit his art. Some of his very early drawings of sunshine and rainbows hang upon the wall as well as some of his most dedicated pencil drawings of landscapes, him with parents in front of his house and various sketches of everyday Kranstein. Sometimes Carla invites friends despite Lexandre protesting heavily to show them his art. Lexandre is anxious and protective of his work but Carla, as every caring and loving mother, is proud of his work and pushes him to be more confident in his artistic talent. It's late in the evening and the sun is about to set soon. Lexandre has arrived in his room where he draws what he sees outside of his window, trees and a few houses. They live in a very nice and caring neighborhood so there is little reason to expect scenes of immense tragedy expect for a few times when cats were fightning or a drunkard was yelling like crazy. Lexandre usually does not capture such scenes in his drawings since they make him and everyone else rather uncomfortable. The day has come and gone and after Lexandre finishes his final touches on his drawing of the neighborhood as seen through his window he takes a deep breath and yawns. At the end of this long day of running around he feels himself exhausted and his mother hasn't returned yet for dinner. He closes his sketchbook and puts them on his desk before he lays down. He tries to sleep but gets up again as a cold breeze blows through his room. He examines the neighborhood, the silence of the night is only interrupted by the voices of some owls and ravens. He dives into a slumber again. He is at the lake with his parents Carla and Gerald. He is drawing the lake with the hut in the distance on the other side. The sun is shining and the temperature is amazing, the water of the lake is littered with sparkling pearls of white and a soft warm breeze is blowing through his arms and feet. He draws every detail with caring accuarcy, even the soft waves that appear when a bird raises his leg from the water as he finishes drinking. He smells the scent of sweet flowers and pollen and the invigorating smell of green herbs and the green grass growing sprouting from the brown earth and the overall gaiety of the scene overwhelmes his sensibilities with a rush of anondyne, translucent wonder and a tranquility of mind. The toppling, layered blue-grayish mountains in the far distance provoke a realization of granulity of his existence. So small and insignficant compared to the rest of the world, even these sleeping rocks. He looks at the sky. Ahhh, how the sun is smiling upon his juvenile face. This limited biotope paradise unfolds endlessly within him and his limbs like a tree into the sky. Ever growing, ever spending rest and shelter. Lexandre walks towards the lake to look upon his reflection. He touches the lake with his finger and waves spread blurring his image. First quietly, then ever louder he hears a sweet song of a woman. The song must come from the lake, he looks closer to perhaps spot the origin of the mysterious maiden. A leaf is landing on the spot where he is looking. He waves it away and then proceeds to touch the lake again. As he lifts his hand the water seems to be glued to his finger as the water raises with his finger like a web to a needle. In utter confusion he marvels at the phenomenom of thick water running from the tip of his finger like honey but it doesn't appear to be depleting. Suddenly the web bursts into chromatic bubbles flying towards the sun, glaring him as he follows their path. His curiosity returning to the lake he tries to touch it again but appears to be touching solid ground. He knocks at the surface but he can hear no sound at all reaching his ears. In spontaneous and uncontrolled agitation he proceeds to knock the surface of the lake furiously again and again and as though his efforts rewarded, he notices a crack. The crack grows to a larger one, extending into branches of circular shape and suddenly they burst with a deafening sound of a thousand glasses hit by a heavy hammer collapsing into his direction. In the reflection of the splintered glasses a woman with brown hair and is appearing in different angles as though the exact image was burnt into them like a frame hanging on a wall. The glasses are passing by him in slowly fashion like a clock moving not even at half of its regular speed, showing more facettes of that woman to him. The woman's head from the left side, the woman's head from the right side, strangely, he feels as though he knows her but at the same time she looks bewilderingly strange to him. As the glasses float by, he notices the face of the woman again yet upon closer inspection Lexandre heart sinks to rock bottom, his face turns pale and he stops breathing momentarily as he realizes who the woman in the reflection is who is staring right into his eyes with an expression of demonic proportion with no sign of loveliness directly into his soul. He tries to look away but as he tries to move his head his neck won't even move an inch and his eyes are fixed upon her eyes and he feels his heart beating fast and the fear creeping up his head like a spider crawling slowly on the back of his neck, he urges to scream but only the hellish face is what rests on his mind and nothing else. Ever faster is beating his heart and ever more gruesome appears the visage to him, not the features of a mere woman but the features of a face tormented a thousand years about to unleash endless agony upon whomever dares to look at it. He feels as though his head is exploding and his breathe cut off when the visage appears horribly disfigured right before his inner vision and in flames engulfed burning hot and screeches demonically: "YOU DIE! HE DIES, SHE DIES! YOUR HEAD WILL BURN HERE NEXT TO ME FOREVER AND YOUR FAMILY BURNS" "YOU DIE, HE DIES, SHE DIES. YOUR HEAD WILL BURN HERE NEXT TO ME FOREVER AND YOUR FAMILY BURNS" "YOU DIE, HE DIES, SHE DIES. YOUR FAMILY BURNS" "YOU DIE, HE DIES, SHE DIES, YOU DIE, HE DIES, YOU DIE, YOU DIE, YOU DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE" Lexandre about to faint shakes his head, takes a deep breath and screams: "WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP" The burning visage burns even hotter and the flames are burning fast: "UHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHH"  
Lexandre falls into the lake and at first he dives. He dives still in agitation and a cold shiver running all over his body. He dives even further as the water gets disgustingly unclearer and his vision is hindered by a green and muddy water and he then he sees it. His parents motionless right in front of him a few metres away with torn clothes, spiders crawling up an own on their pale faces, floating like only the dead do in water. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH".  
With speed and force Lexandre raises his upper body from the bed, sweating and breathing heavily. He is awake now. He is looking left and right and his body begins to quiver heavily. He rubs his eyes in agitation and realizes: He has been dreaming. Nothing of what just happened was real. Not the woman, not the unnatural water, not Carla and Gerald in the lake yet still he cries, cries miserably at the memory of his nightmare. Still quivering he only hears the distant tolls of a bell sounding somewhere in the fresh air of this night.


	14. Ch 14 - The Invitation

It's a foggy cold night in the town of Kranstein when Carla is sauntering around the markets. The air is filled with a blizzard of fine white powder elevating the usual atmosphere to a rare spectacle of nature. These small ice crystals evoke a feeling of winter nostalgia and childhood remembrance of days long gone when every sensation was new and brought with it endless wonder and food for imagination. Indeed, she feels as though snow could pour down that very instant, covering her every clothes, inviting all sorts of opportunities for play and recreation. People are shaking off the heavy burdens that have stacked up over the day and come together in friendship and understanding. Carla greets a few acquaintances along the way as they share gossip and talk about daily habits with each other. "Carla, dear." one busy woman of wealth with long brown hair and a lean build talks to her. "I was told that you were around when the town was attacked..." A friend of the woman corrects her: "Oh Ludmilla, people were attacked, not the town. We should not be making a big fuss about this and pretend that the whole town should be up in arms and in vengeance. The traders had it coming their way if they disobeyed the order of the agreement." she says. Ludmilla is irritated: "Coming their way? You call a slaughter of living men and women "coming their way"?" Ludmilla turns away from her friend and looks at Carla with a weak sarcastic smile as to signal her to disregard whatever nonsense she just uttered. "Carla, dear, I'm glad you are in good spirits and all. Let's give rest to this talk for now, tonight should be enjoyed and celebrated; at least that's the kind of situation I'd like to have right now." Carla hesitates for a moment and nods: "Sure, if that is what you want, Ludmilla! Let's get right to it then, shall we?" "Oh and..." Carla with a low voice directs her calm yet fast words towards Ludmilla's friend: "I think there's more to what happened that day than just one order disobeyed. People usually don't lose their lives over one fight, not here."

"Carla you know fully well I dare not disobey you, lest your beast of a man comes slaughter me." she laughs. "Oh please." Ludmilla slaps her friend while noticing Carla rolling her eyes uncomfortably. "Carla, what do you think if we just cross through the markets and enjoy the night at my house?" Carla smiles: "I'd be thrilled to do that... however there are some things I wanted to get before I..." Ludmilla: "Oh no, I can't take later for an answer, dear, I'm sorry. Anything you need today you surely might as well get tomorrow, right?" In her mind Carla reviews the food and drinks at home and given Lexandre's little appetite and Gerald eating out often she comes to a conclusion:" You know what, you're right! Fortunately my son will find just about his favorite foods when he'll look for them." Ludmilla grabs Carla arm and takes it under hers: "It is settled then! Let's go, my doves." Ludmilla and her friend fuel down their drinks they had bought and then take leave with Carla. Singing people, hopeless drunkards, romantic couples, lost pups(both cats and dogs), brawling hotheads is the play that define the scenery that unfolds upon them as they walk through the dimly dark orange candle lit roads "You know, Ludmilla, I don't remember coming through this particular road before." Carla looks left and right, turns her back and then back to look at Ludmilla. "How is that even possible, Carla?" she responds with a baffled expression. "Has she left her house at least once since she is together with Gerald?" Ludmilla's friend asks. "I'm not sure... like, right now I'm really questioning the very point you have brought up, dear." "Know what, Ludmilla? Next time we meet Gerald the handsome devil, we are going to ask him if even allows his wife out of the house regularly!" Carla opens her mouth widely and whispers still deprived of words. "have you lost your mind...

….Hey you know that I can hear you, right? Gerald is nothing like that and even if he was I'm making my own decisions either way, alright?" Ludmilla's friend with the green eyes looks with an evaluating expression and Carla for a few moments, and after presumingly having taking into consideration what Carla just said, continues: "You know, maybe she is being forced to say that. You can never quite tell when a man strongarms his wife into saying things that make their relationship look good when beneath the cracks emptiness and hurting slumbers, bursting out at any moment." "I see..." Ludmilla responds in a short breath. She puts her arms on her shoulders: "You can tell us everything, we are here to help, you know that, right?"Carla takes a step back, shakes off her heads and says with agitated sarcasm: "Enough already, I'm fine. Gerald would never... I love him, he loves me, we love our child... we... would you stop giving me that "we feel with the mistreated wife" look?" "Another time, dear." Ludmilla agrees and signals 'okay' to her friend.

The walk continues for several minutes when they pass by a stand with posters, the person running the stand seems to be packing things up. "Wait." Carla says. "I want to take a look at this." "Oh haven't you heard, dear? Are you going?" "Going where..." says Carla still trying to get a better look at the poster. The caretaker of the stand, a woman with short blond hair a nice looking purple and green jacket in bright colours and pointed shoulders and a top hat looks towards Carla. "Well hello, miss. I was just going to wrap things up here. I'll light things up for in you here for your convenience." She takes a candle and holds it next to the poster. The poster depicts a dark blue mask on a black background. Beneath a text in elegant white letters:

~~ ~ One night. One ball. One thousand masks.

A dance in the Castle.

Come when the moon shines its first ray on the Garden's field. ~~~

"Oh, no way..." Carla exclaims with her eyes wide open. "It's a costume ball! There's no way. A ball in the Castle?" The caretaker and vendor of the stand holds her candle towards Carla's face. "Yes way, madame! This year, the Lady Carmilla herself is supervising all preparations. Word of town is that the ball was her idea. Of course, I'm no official spokeswoman of the castle so, mind you, everything I say is merely grounded in speculation. But... getting you a ticket for that event, I can tell by your sparkling eyes that you desire one, that is very much real and true. Let me just see for a second..." she moves the candle and turns around to the back where some boxes are are stored to look for something. Ludmilla and her friend are in amusement with Carla's state of delirium. "Hey, Carla, dear, are you able to talk yet?" Carla's attention is all focused on examining every nook and cranny of the invitation poster, trying to appreciate its unique and modern design, fantasizing about everything from decoration, guests, food, Castle dwellers, supposed Castle monsters... if there are any or just another fantasy of the gullible towns people... and of course...Carmilla herself... her, of whom she had fantasized about so much but realizes so very little. In fact, not much at all is known about the landlords of the Castle outside its very gates, only that Walter Bernhard is the head of the Bernhard clan and that he is as wealthy as he is powerful. But just the thought, the mere thought of an opportunity to meet Carmilla, the fair-maiden of the Castle, has Carla's heart racing in excitement and wonder. The caretaker turns her face back towards Carla and after realizing her vexation, moves her head away and with a painful expression gazing towards the night's sky that has cleared away the fog and looks at the sparkling stars as she says: " Confound it... I'm so very sorry but it appears... the last ticket I sold was but 2 hours ago..." Carla feels a cold shiver engulfing her body, unable to predict the emotion that would brew in her next. Sadness, disappointment, anger, regret? The caretaker, still looking at the countless stars at the firmament, sees a glowing comet drawing with it its shining trail, nearly as quickly disappearing as it appeared, imagines a thousand glowing stars raining down on Kranstein, into her eyes. She smiles. "Your name is Carla, am I right? Look here." She points the candle towards the poster once more and with a fast movement of her hand she tears down the poster and behind it a silver ticket reveals itself to them. She takes the ticket, uses one of her feathers with ink and writes something on the ticket in blue letters. "Very well. The night appears to have taken a liking into you Carla, so have I! This is for you." Carla, still shaking at the rush of emotions takes the ticket and on a silver paper with spangled with dark blue powder she reads the text aloud:

One night. One glow. A thousand stars.

By special invitation, this ticket shall grand entrance to the Castle halls to Carla from Kranstein and one friend.

When the moon shines its first ray on the Garden's field

We Shall Dance

With a smile of gratitude and happiness she speaks the last words of the ticket and looks up the Ludmilla, her friend and the caretaker. "Thank you sao much, I doubt I can even thank you enough for... for... this wonderful kindness." The caretaker returns a gentle and warm smile and bows: " Your presence at the ball in high spirits will fill me with joy more than anything else. This is going to be _**your**_ night, with all the impressions and experiences you make." She packs up the utensils of the stand on a car while Carla receives congratulations from her friends. As she finishes up and waves goodbye: "I will make my leave now, farewell!" Carla waves back and doesn't hesitate to ask before she is out of reach: "Will I see you at the ball?"

"If you wish for that to come true, you just might!"

The loud rattle of heavy metallic armor is resounding like clockwork with every step she takes while wind and rain mix with the sound of her steady movements to conjure a sound of a walking thunder that would irritate anyone who believes that the storm comes from the sky, not the ground. Merely minutes ago she left the path of a dense forest and is now crossing through a meadow with wet grass reaching to her armored knees. Rain pours down from her visor, like small rivers they flow from the top to the ground and while she is walking at a steady pace the wind makes this a rather arduous task, like an invisible wall it pushes against her as though someone meant to say to her: "Stop. Don't move on. Your path ends here now."

She is somewhere in that wide open field now and only the light of the moon behind the clouds shows her way through the dark. Gray to white clouds dimly illuminated show a setting of exotic forms and shades of towering and interwoven clouds, sometimes appearing like mushrooms, waves, horizons, bushes. Blue lightnings and electrical discharges paint through the firmament like fireworks adding shapes and figures to the night's sky. The grass bends and rises to the wind like watching the hair of a friend flow after a gentle blow to her forehead. As the spectacle of nature continues to unfold a particular strong wind pushes against her, forcing her to stop walking. Slowly, the clouds in the sky move near a bright spot to reveal the shining surface of the moon. She marvels at the moon when in the very same moment its shape starts to change. A sketching of a smiling woman's face is appearing with changing expressions of amusement. In intervals of seconds the face changes to a new sketching, a straight face, a slightly tilted head, a face from the side, her mouth wide open revealing her white teeth... Like pencil sketches the face continuously changes to a new image. The woman in her armor immediately develops a fondness of that face. The storm revealed to her a face that's kind, gentle, caring, loving, soothing. The kind of positive emotions you would associate with a close friend, family, a loved one. "Who is she? She is gorgeous..." she whispers behind her visor. The play of faces goes on as she continues walking, hardly able to release her view off the transforming moon. The longer she looks at the faces the more she feels like she can hear a laughter somewhere originating near the moon yet she realizes that what she hears must come from a place within her head.

"So mysterious... why are you cloaking yourself in your mysterious ways, moon? " _A laughing maiden, atop the sky, a rainy night, I ponder why. Dare you seduce me, quickly enchant me, a smile in your light, kindles a light in my heart."_

She comes to a halt, raises her hands to her visor to adjust it reaches to the back of her helmet. She removes the helmet and her short reddish-orange hair immediately hit by the rain shines, and she beams with a smile at the moon, then, she continues her walk through the rain.

The storm is hitting the lands near Bernhard Castle with heavy drops of down pouring rain, the Castle soldiers are retreating back into their living quarters, voluminous and puzzling looking clouds are hanging over the rooftops of Kranstein town where the windows are tightly shut, some bottles and kettle are placed within the living chambers to catch the water from a leak. At some spots the river is overflowing and washing away the remains of the day, far away, out of the town. Where once the raging conflagrations of hell laid waste to the land, and the ashes have covered the scene in gray and black at the Lake near Bernhard Castle, nature now has come to force back its earthly colors. The hut near the Lake is muttering sounds of cracking wooden planks, as they bend beyond their elasticity and break forcing the hut to collapse. The contents of hut, books, pages, viols, potions, personal belongings are flowing with the fast winds of the storm, sailing above the lake and through the forests. A single large page of a book with nothing else on it but the initial _C._ is turning and vibrating heavily and eventually blown away, far off into the distance, not to be ever seen again.

"" _ARRHHGHGHHH..."_ "Professor Frankenstein, at this rate he will lose consciousness which will render his body's reactions to surgery unpredictable." one of the assisting doctors hastily informs Victor Frankenstein as he operates with medical equipment on the patient. The face of a pale, strong man is sweating heavily in his fever dream. "Continue... continue! Ahhhh...hahaha, this man is made of iron, perhaps steel even, do you really think a little surgical operation is going to take him out? Hah... HAH!"

"I beg you Frankenstein, reconsider, his condition is becoming ever more dire, his heart might cease to support further procedures if we don't let him rest." Frankenstein slowly adjusts his glasses which look like they could burst any minute and his countenance changes to an expression of sheepish delight. "Too late... too late now... connect the sections and keep the sedatives flowing...hahaha... he will come to with major head...AHAHAHA."

"Fool...!" the assistant doctor mumbles while wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his underarm, yet his insult is drowned by the thunder of the storm and commotion of the patient shaking. Suddenly Frankenstein violently pushes the assistant away and grabs a scalpel. "Let me do this here..." he proceeds with a cut. The patient screams at the top of his lungs in violent pain. "HAHAHAHA..." Lightning. An ear damaging thunder. In another part of the castle a few miles away lies a young man motionless in a bed surrounded by two women and a man in a fine black cloth and his cane. Heavy rain drops are striking against the window of the high north tower. The man with the cane turns his view away from the storm outside and directs his attention to the tranquilized storm within the room.

"Is he still breathing?" Sebastian asks. One of the young house maidens is pressing the back of her hand near Balch's nose. "He is, yet it's a very low, weak breath." Carmilla, who is sitting in a chair near the bed stands up to put the palm of her hand on his forehead. "He is very cold. People usually can't survive with a temperature this low, but he is different. I know of some cases and symptoms that come with a body cold as this, but his condition is different." She removes her hand, sighing. "To be absolutely frank, I don't think I can provide the treatment he needs. Not here, not alone." "Oh Balch, what have you gotten yourself into this time." His facial expression is empty, hard and motionless like stone. "Sebastian?" Carmilla musters him.

Sebastian stomps the floor with his cane. The wall of the right side of the bed rotates, revealing a stove and shaky mechanical arm, extending a mug with a hot beverage to Sebastian. The maiden is visibly surprised. " I think I... I think I've seen all castle devices by now." Carmilla smiles weakly and nods her head as she takes the mug from Sebastian. "Yeah. You technically... probably." She pours the beverage into Balch's mouth. Sebastian stomps the floor again. From the ceiling a large chandelier shaped device appears glowing in red, yellow and green and orange. It lowers itself just a few inches above Balch's body and rests itself in that position. Carmilla notices the maiden's flustered expression. She shakes her head grinning. " Nah, you didn't even see the top of the ice." She shares a taunting expression with Sebastian. "Dark corners, hidden cellars and chambers, deathtraps, torture apparatus'." The maiden gulps. Carmilla puts her hands on the maiden shoulders. " Rest your mind at ease, friend. All of these things exist in rumor only, Sebastian and I wouldn't know... details... right?"

"None... of the kept-alive... subjects... would..." groans Sebastian in a dark voice with a gruel fake display of terror, menace and forbidden knowledge in his countenance. The maiden starts shaking. "Sebastian, I beg thee..." Sebastian shakes his head. "It appears a little liquor is in order, to calm her nerves." Sebastian stomps the floor two times. The mechanical arm extends a mug with a hot beverage to the maiden. She takes it quickly. "Thank you very much... oh, it's very sweet! Tea, I suppose?" She takes a generous sip. The maiden notices Sebastian raising his eyebrows. " Why, yes, tea it is. Freshly pressed orange tea... Blood...orange." The maiden spits and spills the tea all over the floor, just a shaky movement away from Balch's bed.

"You're a cruel human being, you realize that, Sebastian? I assure your Estelle, there are no vampires to be found within the Castle boundaries." Carmilla rolls her eyes at Sebastian and leaves the sickbed room. "That's quite right, my lady. Yet I'm indeed feasting on human produce. The tears of a damsel distressed." Sebastian licks his white teeth. Maid Estelle frowns and glares at Sebastian in agitation and hurries out of the room.

Carmilla descends the stairs of the tower, taking a glimpse now and then out of a small window to see the storm and rain storming to the ground. She passes through a few richly decorated corridors with pompous statues and ornaments, winged angels embracing the ceiling with their back to the walls. Marble knights to the left and right of a gate in one hand the sword stuck in the ground and the the other hand on the head of a horse decorating the door, looking at whomever wishes to pass through. She enters a small, narrow, very bright hallway with a floor of glass, through it shining a warm, bright orange color. The walls are made of a type of high mirror, reflecting some of the light sometimes letting it through, shining it's light on old and new paintings and portraits in the background. Two doors on each side on the walls in the middle of the hallway lead to another section of the Castle. She proceeds further to the hallway where a plain wooden door with a lock terminates the path. She knocks. She knocks again. She knocks three times. The keyhole is illuminated by a green shining glow, and a green key covered in small roots and leaves appears. She turns the key and the door opens. She enters a spacious chamber and closes the door behind. The particularly beautiful wooden floor is the fundament of largely open oval shaped room, with 6 big shelves on the right side stacked from bottom to top with countless interesting and mildly interesting books. On the left side a kitchen furniture is installed with a stove and an oven. Right now, the smell of various foods reach Carmilla's nose, both the oven and a pot on the stove are simmering. Carmilla takes a deep breath and removes her shoes and puts them next to the door. She goes over to the pot and stirs It and takes in a breath of a thick, delicious smelling warm soup. She tastes a spoonful of the soup and changes her expression into a delighted smile. "Mmhhhh..." She takes a bottle from one of the shelves near the stove and pours herself a drink into a mug. She takes a second mug, poors a powder into it and some hot water, immediately a sweet smell reaches her nose. She takes both mugs and seats herself to the table on the opposite side of the entrance. An electrical painted glass lamp with a rich ornament depicting a flower in yellow and red and green illuminates the table as well as some open scrolls, a few weathered books and several feathers and ink viols.

"Yeah, I remember me room quite clearly, nothing seems to be particularly out of order. That's a good sign for my confused memory." Carmilla says with a proud countenance and a sheepish smile and raised eyebrows. "Let's see..." she carefully musters everything on the table and it seems like everything is where it should be. "Ah, there you are..." she picks up a book that's slightly larger then the others and also slightly more hackneyed than the rest. She flies over several pages from back to front. A page, a date and a few descriptive letters. She eagerly studies the pages of her diary with changing expressions of delight and mild confusion. She reaches the first page of her diary. She smiles at the first few words.

"Hi and good evening, it's me, Carmilla. I'm home right now, home with the usual crowd... my lord, father insists now that I have become older that I refer to him as lord... -.- , either way, so I'm here with Bernhard and his beloved wife... ;o;... oh my that sound's too formal now, doesn't it. Ok, scrap that too. Honorifics are for people with too much time on their hand anyways, right? Right! I knew you would agree with me. We are friends after all, diary, aren't we. Sebastian thinks honorifics are important, so people respect each other the way they should. -.-... wayne, who cares?! Like OMG, Sebastian can be such a massive tool sometimes... I like him still, he is a caring tool and my friend...so... Tomorrow will be a special day. Friends of Walter and mother will come visit the Castle and there will be a lot of food and drinks and …. oh I hope they have children so me, Sebastian and the others can play. We have so much to show them, they are in for a very big surprise they won't forget! I had to let you know, I'm so excited to meet them. I don't even know what I shall wear tomorrow. Oh, I hope that they aren't boring farmer's kids who get nothing what you tell them and only want to see the horses …. ughhh... please God, have mercy. ;o;... whatever, I'm going back to bed now, nobody knows how early they are going to arrive... later!

"My very first entry..." Carmilla whispers as she reaches the end of the page. Her handwriting has improved quite a bit since then and she is quite satisfied with the progress she has made. A wave of nostalgia of days long gone engulfs her mind as she conjures memories of her earlier days. She lifts one of the mugs with juice in it and takes a good sip. A lot has changed since then, she, Walter, Sebastian and the people of the Castle aren't the same they used to be. What several years in time can do to a person, Carmilla wonders. She opens up the last page of the diary withn an entry written into it and then one page further. She takes a feather, dives it into the ink and puts the feather down on the paper when in that moment she hears a knocking on a window a few steps away. The knocking originates from her bedroom, next to her study quarter in an oval attachement room that intersects with the main room and no doors in between, to the opposite of the entrance. The bedroom is a glass construct with an open air glass ceiling, usually inviting the stars into the chambers but tonight the rain comes rushing down. The king sized bed with white sheets is in the middle of the room and the windows right behind it. Again, she hears something knocking on the window. She raises her eyes wide open when she opens the window and a grey mist slowly enters the room. The mist slowly completely fills the room and drowns the thunders of the storm with can hardly see her hands before her eyes when very slowly the mist materializes into the shape of a little creature behind her on the bed. Carmilla turns around and the shapes of the creature reassemble themselves like moving brushes of paint running together like rivers into the sea.

"Chupacabras." A golden amulet shines around the neck of Chupacabras as well as the other two amulets tied to the staff on his belt. "It's good to see you again, my little friend." she smiles with delight at him. "Ahahaha... you should thank me. We saved you. I saved you. I did most of the work actually while everyone else merely escaped the brink of death only by a split second... I survived and with my head held high...hahahahahaha." Chupacabras backflips and slowly levitates with his back onto the bed. Carmilla laughs. " Oh I thank you so much Chupa! I do, I really do." Chupa tramples with his feet in excitement. "And because I know you... you'll want something in return. These amulets I gave you will be yours until I come up with... some practical use for them." Chupa jubilates "Iheheheheheheee." Carmilla continues. " I'll also grant you one of your wishes you have held for quite some time now... Walter refused to have you here in the Castle up until now however you helped saved my life and might be too dangerous to be alone in the forest right now so... I shall see to it that you will have your own chambers within the Castle walls." Chupacabras backflips again. "Wohooohhh... aha ha ha ha... thank you. Where... when can I bring my belongings...ha haaaaa... actually don't worry about... I'll just take whatever I can use from this room here...ahaha...ahahaaaaaaahahaha." Chupacabras warps around the room setting various furniture items which are sent spinning into a maelstrom cloud of dust. "Wait... no.. not that... waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitt... not my clothes!" Carmilla screeches and runs after the wandering mist to catch Chupacabras however she is not fast enough and the mist is rushing towards the window to escape. Carmilla snips with her fingers and the windows closes with a loud bang. The mist repels at the window and clears up and dozens of Carmilla's spinning belongings come falling down everywhere in her bedroom. Carmilla shoves the items off her bed and plunges herself onto the sheets. "In a few days time...Chupa. I'm sorry. I need to find a room and then we need to build the actual thing first." Chupa seemingly unimpressed has stolen one of Carmilla's mug with the hot beverage and it appears he has found a delicious drink for he empties it rather quickly. Carmilla points at Chupacabras, sporting a shocked countenance. "That's my...never mind... enjoy your drink... I'll just open the window...and... drink some rain water or something... or something..." Carmilla sags her head and shrugs. Carmilla stretches her arm and legs lying on her bed, closing her eyes, thinking about tomorrow. At last, the day has come. Final preparations will come to an end by tomorrow midday and then everything will be ready for the big night. She has been anticipating this event for so long now and despite the recent hardships of her friends and hers she is determined to make that event become a reality. In her thoughts she jumps in the air smiling and shouting hooray.


End file.
